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THE CATHEDRALS AND 
CHURCHES OF THE RHINE 




The Cathedral Series 



The following^ each i vol., library 
i2mo, cloth, gilt top, profusely illus- 
trated. %2-SO 

The Cathedrals of Northern 
France by fra ncis mil to un 

The Cathedrals of Southern 
France b y fra ncis mil to un 

The Cathedrals of England 

BY MARY J. TABER 

The following, each i vol., library 
i2mo, cloth, gilt top, profusely illus- 
trated. Net, $2.00 

The Cathedrals and Churches [- 

nf thp J^hiviP BY FRANCIS \ 

Of tfje rLnine miltoun 

The Cathedrals of Northern 
Spain B Y CHA rles rudy 

L. C. PAGE & COMPANY 

New England Building, Boston, Mass 




c 



OLOGNE CATHEDRAL 



THE CATHEDRALS AND 
CHURCHES OF THE RHINE 

By FRANCIS MILTOUN 

AUTHOR OF "THE CATHEDRALS 
OF NORTHERN FRANCE," "THE 
CATHEDRALS OF SOUTHERN 
FRANCE," " dickens' LONDON," 
ETC., WITH NINETY ILLUSTRA- 
TIONS, PLANS, AND DIAGRAMS, 

By BLANCHE McMANUS 



.^U^! , ?H-u £-^^^-^ ^:: . , 




BOSTON 

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MDCCCCVI 



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Copyright, igos 
By L. C. Page & Company 

(incorporated) 
All rights reserved 



Published September, 1905 



COLONIAL PRESS 

EUctrotyPed and Printed by C. H. Simonds b* Co. 

Boston, U.S.A. 



CONTENTS 



I. 

II. 
III. 

IV. 
V. 
VI. 
VII. 
VIII. 
IX. 
X. 
XI. 
XII. 
XIII. 
XIV. 
XV. 
XVI. 
XVII. 
XVIII. 
XIX. 
XX. 
XXI. 
XXIJ. 



Apologia 

Introductory «... 

The Rhine Cities and Towns 

The Church in Germany 

Some Characteristics of Rhenish Archi 

The Accessories of German Churches 

Constance and SchafFhausen 

Basel and Colmar 

Freiburg 

Strasburg .... 

Metz 

Speyer 

Carlsruhe, Darmstadt, and Wiesbaden 
Heidelberg and Mannheim . 
Worms .... 
Frankfort .... 
Mayence .... 
Bacharach, Bingen, and Rudesheim 
Limburg .... 
Coblenz and Boppart 
Laach and Stolzenfels 
Andernach and Sinzig 
Treves 



ecture 



PAGB 
V 

I 

'3 

29 
40 
56 
68 

83 

93 

97 

114 

127 

134 
142 
149 

155 
161 
172 
181 

187 
194 
199 
202 





Contents 






CHAPTER 






PAGE 


XXIII. 


Bonn ..... 




208 


XXIV. 


Godesberg and Rolandseck 




226 


XXV. 


Cologne and Its Cathedral 




232 


XXVI. 


The Churches of Cologne 




264 


XXVII. 


Aix-la-Chapellc 




277 


XXVIII. 


Liege 




295 


XXIX. 


Diisseldorf, Neuss, and Miinchen-Gladbach 


304 


XXX. 


Essen and Dortmund 




318 


XXXI. 


Emmerich, Cleves, and Xanten 




326 


XXXII. 


Arnheim, Utrecht, and Leyden 




331 




Appendix .... 




347 




Index 




363 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Cologne Cathedral . 

General View of Leyden . 

General View of Dusseldorf 

Worms Cathedral 

Chandelier, Aix-la-Chapelle 

Font, Limburg 

Constance Cathedral 

Coat of Arms, Constance 

Cathedral Clock, Basel 

Basel and Its Cathedral . 

Coat of Arms, Basel 

Freiburg Cathedral . 

Coat of Arms, Freiburg . 

Ancient Church Foundation, Strasburg (diagram) 

Strasburg Cathedral . 

Coat of Arms, Strasburg . 

Metz .... 

Speyer Cathedral 

Greek Chapel, Wiesbaden 

Coat of Arms, Darmstadt 

Heidelberg and Its Castle 

Frankfort Cathedral , 

Coat of Arms, Frankfort . 



Frontispiece 


facing 


8 


facing 


24 


facing 


60 


. 


64 


. 


66 


. 


71 


, 


82 


. 


85 


facing 


86 




92 


facing 


94 


. 


96 


. 


lOI 


facing 


102 


. 


113 


. 


115 


. 


129 


facmg 


140 


. 


141 


facing 


146 


facing 


,56 




160 




List of Illustrations 



Cenotaph of Drusus, Mayence 


. 


. 


162 


Mayence Cathedral .... 


facing 


166 


Bacharach 




. 


173 


Bishop Hatto's Mouse Tower 




. 


175 


Coat of Arms, Bingen 




. 


180 


Limburg Cathedral . 




facing 


182 


Coblenz and Its Bridge . 




facing 


190 


General View of Boppart 




facing 


192 


Coat of Arms, Coblenz . 






193 


Abbey of Laach (restored) 






195 


Stolzenfels Castle 






197 


Coat of Arms, Laach 






198 


General View of Andernach 




facing 


200 


Sinzig Church 






205 


Treves Cathedral 




facing 


214 


Pulpit, Treves Cathedral . 






216 


Coat of Arms, Treves 






219 


General View of Bonn . 




facing 


220 


Apse, Bonn Cathedral 






221 


Convent of Nonnenwerth 






229 


General View of Cologne 




facing 


232 


Cologne Cathedral in 1820 






254 


Stone-masons' Marks, Cologne 


Cathedral . 




262 


Coat of Arms, Cologne . 






263 


Font, St. Martin's, Cologne . 






267 


Gross St. Martin, Cologne 






269 


St. Gereon's, Cologne . 




facing 


272 


Coat of Arms, Cologne . 






276 


Charlemagne .... 






279 


Aix-la-Chapelle Cathedral in D 


Cth Centur) 


r 


283 



List of Illustrations 



Aix-la-Chapelle Cathedral . . . facing 

Coat of Arms, Aix-la-Chapelle 

General View of Liege .... facing 

Coat of Arms, Liege 

Neuss Cathedral 

Coat of Arms, Diisseldorf 

General View of Essen .... facing 

Seven-branched Candlestick, Essen 

Coat of Arms, Essen 

St. Victor's, Xanten 

General View of Arnheim . . . facing 

General View of Utrecht . . . facing 

Round Church in the IXth Century, Aix-la-Chapelle 

(diagram) 
St. Genevieve, Andernach (diagram) 
Bonn Cathedral (diagram) 
St. Castor, Coblenz (diagram) . 
Ancient Cathedral, Cologne (diagram) 
Present Cathedral, Cologne (diagram) 
St. Maria in Capitolia, Cologne (diagram) 
St. Cunibert's, Cologne (diagram) 
St. Martin's, Cologne (diagram) 
Church of the Apostles, Cologne (diagram) 
St. Gereon's, Cologne (diagram) 
Crypt, St. Gereon's, Cologne (diagram) 
Constance Cathedral (diagram) 
Freiburg Cathedral (diagram) . 
Abbey of Laach (diagram) 
Mayence Cathedral (diagram) . 
Gothard Chapel, Mayence (diagram) 



PAGE 
290 '^ 
294 
296 

309 

317 

318' 

321 

325 

329 

332 

340^ 

347 
348 

349 
350 

351 
351 
352 
352 
353 
353 
353 
353 
354 
355 
356 
358 
358 



List of Illustrations 



Abbey Church, Munchen-Gladbach (diagram) 

St. Quirinus, Neuss (diagram) . 

SchafFhausen Cathedral (diagram) 

Speyer Cathedral (diagram) 

Treves Cathedral (diagram) 

St. Martin, Worms (diagram) . 



359 
359 
360 
360 
361 
362 



APOLOGIA 

The Rhine provinces stand for all that is 
best and most characteristic of the ecclesias- 
tical architecture of Germany, as contrasted 
with that very distinct species known as 
French pointed or Gothic. 

For this reason the present volume of the 
series, which follows the Cathedrals of 
Northern and Southern France, deals with 
a class of ecclesiastical architecture entirely 
different from the light, flamboyant style 
which has made so many of the great cathe- 
dral churches of France preeminently fa- 
mous. 

Save Cologne, there is no great cathedral, 
either in Germany or the Low Countries, 
which in any way rivals the masterpieces 
of Paris, Reims, or Amiens, or even Lincoln 
or York in England. 

Strasburg and Metz are in a way remi- 
niscent of much that is French, but in the 
main the cathedrals and churches of the 
Rhine are of a species distinct and com- 
plete in itself. 



Apologia 

Any consideration of the Rhine cities and 
towns, and the ecclesiastical monuments 
which they contain, must perforce deal 
largely with the picturesque and romantic 
elements of the river s legendary past. 

Not all of these legends deal with mere 
romance, as the world well knows. The 
religious element has ever played a most 
important part in the greater number of the 
Rhine legends. For demonstration, one has 
only to recall the legends of '' The Architect 
of Cologne/' of ^'Bishop Hatto and His 
Mouse Tower on the Rhine,'' and of many 
others relating to the devout men and women 
who in times past lived their lives here. 

In the Low Countries also, — at Liege, 
where we have '' The Legend of the Lie- 
geois," and at Antwerp, where we have 
'' The Legend of the Blacksmith," — and in- 
deed throughout the whole Rhine watershed 
there is abundant material to draw from with 
respect to the religious legend alone. 

As for the purely romantic legends, like 
*' The Trumpeter of Sackingen " and '' The 
Lorelei'' there is manifestly neither room 
nor occasion for recounting them in a work 
such as this, and so, frankly , they are inten- 
tionally omitted. 



Apologia 

In general, this hook aims to be an account 
of the great churches in the Rhine valley, 
and of that species of architectural style 
which is known as Rhenish, 

There is a fund of interesting detail to 
be gathered in out-of-the-way corners in re- 
gard to these grand edifices and their pious 
founders, but not all of it can be even cata- 
logued here. The most that can be at- 
tempted is to point out certain obvious facts 
in connection with these ecclesiastical monu- 
ments, not neglecting the pictorial represen- 
tation as well. 

Tourists have well worn the roads along 
both banks of the Rhine, from Cologne to 
Mayence, but above and below is a still 
larger and no less interesting country, which 
has been comparatively neglected. 

Not all the interest of the Rhine lies in 
its castled crags or its vine-clad slopes, and 
not all the history of the middle ages ema- 
nated from feudal strongholds. The Church 
here, as in France, played its part and played 
it gloriously. 

In this discussion of the Rhine churches 
from Constance to Leyden, the reader will 
be taken on what might, with considerable 
license, be called an ^^architectural tour'^ of 




Apologia 

the Rhine, and will be allowed to ramble 
along the banks of the river, looking in and 
out of the various religious edifices with 
which its cities and towns are crowded. 

The valley of the Rhine is no undiscov- 
ered land, but it served the purpose of the 
author and the artist well, for it presents 
much variety of architectural form, and an 
abounding and appealing interest by reason 
of the shadows of the past still lingering over 
these monuments in stone. 




3LjaSC^^S»-^---!:5^- 



.vi_ 



The Cathedrals and 
Church ej of the Rhine 



INTRODUCTORY 

There is no topographical division of 
Europe which more readily defines itself 
and its limits than the Rhine valley from 
Schaffhausen to where the river empties into 
the North Sea. 

The region has given birth to history and 
legend of a most fascinating character, and 
the manners and customs of the people who 
dwell along its banks are varied and pictur- 
esque. 

Under these circumstances it was but to 
be expected that architectural development 
should have expressed itself in a decided and 
unmistakable fashion. 

One usually makes the Rhine tour as an 
interlude while on the way to Switzerland 

I 




Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

or the Italian lakes, with little thought of 
its geographical and historical importance 
in connection with the development of mod- 
ern Europe. 

It was the onward march of civilization, 
furthered by the Romans, through this great- 
est of natural highways to the north, that 
gave the first political and historical signifi- 
cance to the country of the Rhine watershed. 
And from that day to this the Rhenish prov- 
inces and the Low Countries bordering upon 
the sea have occupied a prominent place in 
history. 

There is a distinct and notable architec- 
ture, confined almost, one may say, to the 
borders of the Rhine, which the expert 
knows as Rhenish, if it can be defined at 
all; and which is distinct from that variety 
of pre-Gothic architecture known as Roman- 
esque. 

It has been developed mainly in the build- 
ing of ecclesiastical edifices, and the churches 
and cathedrals of the Rhine valley, through 
Germany and the Netherlands, are a species 
which, if they have not the abounding pop- 
ular interest of the great Gothic churches of 
France, are quite as lordly and imposing as 
any of their class elsewhere. The great ca- 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

thedral at Cologne stands out among its 
Gothic compeers as the beau-ideal of our 
imagination, while the cathedral at Tournai, 
in Belgium — which, while not exactly of 
the Rhine, is contiguous to it — is the pro- 
totype of more than one of the lesser and 
primitive Gothic cathedrals of France, and 
has even lent its quadruple elevation to 
Notre Dame at Paris, and was possibly the 
precursor of the cathedral at Limburg-on- 
Lahn. 

From this it will be inferred that the build- 
ers of the churches of the Rhine country were 
no mere tyros or experimenters, but rather 
that they w^ere possessed of the best talents 
of the time. 

There is much of interest awaiting the 
lover of churches who makes even the con- 
ventional Rhine tour, though mostly the 
tourist in these parts has heretofore reserved 
his sentiments and emotions for the admira- 
tion of its theatrical-looking crags and cas- 
tles, the memory of its legends of the Lore- 
lei, etc., a nodding acquaintance with the 
castle of Heidelberg, and a proper or im- 
proper appreciation of the waterside beer- 
gardens of Cologne. For the most part the 
real romance and history of the Rhine, as it 

3 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

flows from its source in the Grisons to the 
North Sea, has been neglected. 

There are a large number of persons who 
are content to admire the popular attrac- 
tions of convention; sometimes they evoke 
an interest somewhat out of the ordinary, 
but up to now apparently no one has gone 
to the Rhine with the sole object of visiting 
its magnificent gallery of ecclesiastical treas- 
ures. 

No one glows with enthusiasm at the men- 
tion of these Rhenish churches as they do 
for the Gothic marvels of France. It is, 
of course, impossible, in spite of Cologne, 
Speyer, and Strasburg, that they should sup- 
plant Reims, Amiens, Chartres, or Rouen in 
the popular fancy, to say nothing of real 
excellence; for these four French examples 
represent nearly all that is best in mediaeval 
church architecture. 

The Reformation in Germany, with its 
attendant unrest, accounts for a certain lati- 
tude and variety in the types of church fit- 
ments, as well as — in many cases — an un- 
conventional arrangement or disposition of 
the fabric itself. 

One thing is most apparent with regard 
to German churches in general, — the fit- 

4 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

tings and paraphernalia, as distinct from the 
constructive or decorative elements of the 
fabric, are far more ornate and numerous 
than in churches of a similar rank elsewhere. 
It is true that the Revolution played its part 
of destruction along the Rhine, but in spite 
of this there is an abundance of sculpture 
and other ornament still left. 

Thus one almost always finds elaborate 
choir-stalls, screens, pulpits, and altar-pieces, 
of a quantity and excellence that contrast 
strongly with the severe outlines of the fabric 
which shelters them. 

In connection with the architectural forms 
of the ecclesiastical buildings of a country 
must invariably be considered such secular 
and civic establishments as represent the 
state in its relation to the Church, and along 
the Rhine, as elsewhere on the continent of 
Europe, the past forms an inseparable link 
which still binds the two. Here, not only 
the public architecture, but the private, do- 
mestic architecture takes on forms which, 
varied though they are, belong to no other 
regions. They are, moreover, only to be 
judged at their true value when considered 
as a thing of yesterday, rather than of to- 
day. 

5 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

That portion of the Rhine which is best 
worth knowing, according to the ideas of the 
conventional tourist, is that which lies between 
Cologne and Mayence. This is the region 
of the travel-agencies, and of the droves of 
sightseers who annually sweep down upon 
the " legendary Rhine," as they have learned 
to call it, on foot, on bicycle, and by train, 
steamboat, and automobile. 

Above and below these cities is a great 
world of architectural wealth which has not 
the benefit of even a nodding acquaintance 
with most new-century travellers. 

To them Strasburg is mostly a myth, 
though even the vague memory of the part 
it played in the Franco-Prussian war ought 
to stamp it as something more than that, to 
say nothing of its awkwardly spired, but very 
beautiful and most ancient cathedral. 

Still farther down the river one comes to 
Diisseldorf, that most modern of German 
cities. At Neuss, a short distance from Diis- 
seldorf, is the church of St. Quirinus, which 
will live in the note-books of architectural 
students as one of the great buildings of the 
world. 

It is a singularly ample river-bottom that 
is drained by the Rhine from its Alpine 

6 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

source to the sea, and one which offers prac- 
tically an inexhaustible variety of charming 
environment; and here, as elsewhere, archi- 
tecture plays no small part in reflecting the 
manners, customs, and temperaments of the 
people. 

Of the value of the artistic pretensions of 
the people of Holland we have mostly ob- 
tained our opinions from the pictures of 
Teniers, or from the illustrated post-cards, 
which show clean-looking maidens bedecked 
in garments that look as though they had just 
been laundered. To these might be added 
advertisements of chocolate and other articles 
which show to some extent the quaint wind- 
mills and dwelling-houses of the towns. 
Apart from these there is little from which 
to judge of the wealth of architectural treas- 
ures of this most fascinating of countries, 
whose churches, if they are bare and gaunt 
in many ways, are at least as sympathetic 
in their appealing interest as many situated 
in a less austere climate. To realize this 
one has but to recall the ship-model-hung 
Kerk at Haarlem; the quaint little minaret 
which rises above the roof tops of Leyden; 
or, the grandest of all, the Groote Kerk of 
Rotterdam, which, on a cloud-riven autumn 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

day, composes itself into varying moods and 
symphonies which would have made Whis- 
tler himself eager and envious of its beauty 
and grandeur. 

In so far as this book deals only with the 
churches and cathedrals of the Rhine, and 
follows the course of the'Neder Rijn and 
the Oud Rijn through Holland, there are 
but three Dutch cities which bring them- 
selves naturally into line: Arnheim, Utrecht, 
and Leyden. 

So far as Americans are concerned, there 
is a warm spot in their hearts for Old Hol- 
land, when they remember the brave little 
band of Pilgrims who gathered at Leyden 
and set sail from Delfthaven for their new 
home across the seas. This was but three 
hundred years ago, which, so far as the an- 
tiquity of European civilization goes, counts 
for but little. It is something, however, to 
realize that the mediaeval architectural mon- 
uments of these places are the very ones 
which the Pilgrims themselves knew. It is 
true, however, that their outlook upon life 
was too austere to have allowed them to 
absorb any great amount of the artistic ex- 
pression of the Dutch, but they must un- 
questionably have been impressed with the 

8 




G 



ENERAL VIEW of LEYDEN 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

general appropriateness of the architecture 
around them. 

Below Diisseldorf the topography and ar- 
chitectural features alike change rapidly, 
and the true Rhenish architecture of heavy 
arches, with an occasional sprinkling of 
fairy-like Gothic, really begins. Neuss, Es- 
sen, and all the Westphalian group of sol- 
idly built miinsters speak volumes for Ger- 
man mediaeval church architecture, while 
up the Rhine, past Diisseldorf, Cologne, 
Bonn, Konigswater, Remagen, Sinzig, An- 
dernach, Coblenz, and all the way to Ma- 
yence, and on past Schaffhausen to Basel 
are at least three score of interesting old 
churches as far different from those else- 
where as could possibly be imagined, and 
yet all so like, one to another, that they are 
of a species by themselves; all except the 
cathedral at Cologne, which follows the best 
practice of the French, except that its nave 
is absurdly short for its great breadth, and 
that its ponderous towers stand quite alone 
in their class. 

In general, then, the cathedrals and 
churches of the Rhine form a wonderful 
collection of masterpieces of architectural 
art with which most well-informed folk in 

9 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the world to-day should have a desire for 
acquaintanceship. 

These often austere edifices, when seen 
near by, may not appeal to the popular fancy 
as do those of France and England, and they 
may not even have the power to so appeal; 
but, such as they are, they are quite as worthy 
of serious consideration and ardent admira- 
tion as any structures of their kind in exist- 
ence, and they have, in addition, an environ- 
ment which should make a journey among 
them, along the banks of the Rhine from its 
source to the sea, one of the most enjoyable 
experiences of life. 

The Rhine loses none of its charms by 
intimate acquaintance; its history and leg- 
ends stand out with even more prominence; 
and the quaint architectural forms of its 
cities are at least characteristically convinc- 
ing. 

Remains of every period may be found 
by the antiquary, from the time when the 
Roman eagle was triumphant throughout the 
dominion of the Franks to feudal and war- 
like times nearer our own day. 

In addition, there are ever to be found 
evidences of the frugality and thrift of the 



lO 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Germans which preserve the best traditions 
of other days. 

The love of the Rhineland in the breast 
of the Teuton is an indescribable sentiment; 
a confusion of the higher and lower emo- 
tions. It is characteristic of the national 
genius. We have been told, and rightly: 
" You cannot paint the Rhine, you cannot 
even describe it, for picture or poem would 
leave out half of the whole delicious con- 
fusion. The Rhine, however, can be set to 
music," and that apparently is just what has 
been done. 

Everywhere one hears the music of the 
fatherland. Whether it is the songs and 
madrigals of the Church, or of the German 
bands in the Volksgarten, it is always the 
same, a light, irrepressible emotion which 
does much toward elucidating the complex 
German character. 

Nowhere more than at Cologne is this 
contrast apparent. It is the most delightful 
of all Rhine cities. Usually tourists go there, 
or are sent there — which is about what it 
amounts to in most cases — in order to begin 
their " Rhine tour." 

Before they start up-stream, they stroll 
about the city, pop in and out of its glorious 

1 1 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

cathedral, and perhaps one or another of its 
magnificent churches, — if they happen to be 
on their line of march to or from some 
widely separated points, — make the usual 
purchase of real eau de Cologne, — though 
doubtless they are deceived into buying a 
poor imitation, — and wind up in a river- 
side concert-garden, with much music and 
beer-drinking in the open. 

This is all proper enough, but this book 
does not aim at recounting a round of these 
delights. It deals, if not with the Teutonic 
emotions themselves, at least with the ex- 
pression of them in the magnificent and pic- 
turesquely disposed churches of both banks 
of the Rhine, from its source to the sea. 



12 



II 

THE RHINE CITIES AND TOWNS 

C^SAR, Charlemagne, and Napoleon all 
played their great parts in the history of the 
Rhine, and, in later days, historians, poets, 
and painters of all shades of ability and opin- 
ion have done their part to perpetuate its 
glories. 

The Rhine valley formed a part of three 
divisions of the ancient Gaul conquered by 
the Romans: La Belgica, toward the coast 
of the North Sea; Germanica I., with Mo- 
guntiacum (Mayence) as its capital; and 
Germanica II., with Colonia Agrippina 
(Cologne) as its chief town. The Rhine was 
the great barrier between the Romans and 
the German tribes, and, in the time of Tibe- 
rius, eight legions guarded the frontier. The 
political and economic influences which 
overflowed from the Rhine valley have been 
most momentous. 

The Rhine formed one of the great Roman 
13 



Cathedrals a^id Churches of the Rhine 

highways to the north, and it is interesting 
to note that the first description of it is 
Caesar's, though he himself had little famil- 
iarity with it. He wrote of the rapidity of its 
flow, and built, or caused to be built, a wooden 
bridge over it, between Coblenz and Ander- 
nach. 

In the history of the Rhine we have a 
history of Europe. A boundary of the em- 
pire of Caesar, it afterward gave passage to 
the barbarian hordes who overthrew impe- 
rial Rome. Charlemagne made it the out- 
post of his power, and later the Church 
gained strength in the cities on its banks, 
while monasteries and feudal strongholds 
rose up quickly one after another. Orders 
of chivalry were established at Mayence; 
and knights of the Teutonic order, of 
Rhodes, and of the Temple, appeared upon 
the scene. The minnesinger and the trouba- 
dour praised its wines, told of its contests, 
and celebrated its victories. The hills, the 
caves, the forests, the stream, and the solid 
rocks themselves were tenanted by supersti- 
tion, by oreads, mermaids, gnomes. Black 
Huntsmen, and demons in all imaginable 
fantastic shapes. 

Meantime the towns were growing under 
14 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the influence of trade, — the grimy power 
that destroyed the feudal system. The Re- 
formed religion found an advocate at Con- 
stance in John Huss even before Luther ful- 
minated against Rome; printing was accom- 
plished by Gutenberg at Mayence; and now 
steam and electricity have awakened a new 
era. 

Caesar, Attila, Clovis, Charlemagne, Fred- 
erick Barbarossa, Rudolph of Hapsburg, the 
Palatine Frederick the First, Gustavus Adol- 
phus, and Napoleon have been victorious 
upon its banks. What more could fate do 
to give the stream an almost immortality of 
fame? 

Little by little there were established on 
the banks of the river populous posts and 
centres of commerce. The military camps 
of Drusus had grown into settled communi- 
ties, until to-day are found along the Rhine 
the great cities of Basel, Strasburg, Speyer, 
Worms, Mayence, Coblenz, Cologne, and 
Diisseldorfj and between them are dotted 
a series of cities and towns less important 
only in size, certainly not in the magnitude 
of their interest for the traveller or student, 
nor in their storied past. 

Of the more romantic, though perhaps not 
15 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

more picturesque, elements of vine-clad 
slopes — where is produced the celebrated 
Rheinwein — the rapid flow of Rhine water, 
and the fabled dwelling-places of sprites and 
Rhinemaidens, there is quite enough for 
many an entertaining volume not yet written. 

After traversing several of the cantons, 
the Rhine leaves Switzerland at Basel, on its 
course, through Germany and Holland, to 
the sea. Its chief tributaries are the Neckar, 
Murg, Kinzig, Aar, Main, Nahe, Lahn, 
Moselle, Erft, Ruhr, and Lippe. Its waters 
furnish capital salmon, which, curiously 
enough, when taken on their passage up the 
stream, are called lachse; but, when caught 
in autumn on their way down to the sea, are 
known as salmon. It affords also sturgeon, 
pike, carp, and lampreys. Its enormous rafts 
of timber have often been described, and 
should be seen to be appreciated. They 
often carried half a village of people, and 
were of great value. To-day these great rafts, 
however, are seldom seen. 

In summer, when the tourist visits the 
river, its course is comparatively calm and 
orderly; it is only in spring, when the snows 
melt rapidly in Switzerland, that '' Father 
Rhine" is to be beheld in all his might; 

i6 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

for then the waters often rise a dozen feet 
above their common level. Its depth from 
Basel to Strasburg averages ten to twelve 
feet; at Mayence, twenty-four feet; at Diis- 
seldorf, fifty feet. 

To Basel, through the Lake of Constance 
from Orisons, the Rhine forms a boundary 
between Switzerland and the German States. 
From Basel to Mayence it winds its way 
through the ancient bed of the glaciers; and 
from Mayence to Bingen it flows through 
rocky walls to Bonn, where it enters the great 
alluvial plain through which it makes its 
way to the ocean. 

The valley of the Rhine has been called 
the artery which gives life to all Prussia. 
The reason is obvious to any who have the 
slightest acquaintance with the region. The 
commerce of the Rhine is ceaseless; day and 
night, up and down stream, the procession of 
steamboats, canal-boats, floats, and barges is 
almost constant. 

From the dawn of history both banks of 
the Lower Rhine had belonged to Germany, 
and they are still inhabited by Germans. 
Ten centuries or more have elapsed since the 
boundaries of the eastern and western king- 
dom of the Franks were fixed at Verdun, 

17 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

and, though the French frontier had fre- 
quently advanced toward Germany, and at 
certain points had actually reached the 
Rhine, no claim was advanced to that por- 
tion w^hich was yet German until the cry of 
" To the Rhine " resounded through the 
French provinces in 1870-71. 

Of course the obvious argument of the 
French was, and is, an apparently justifiable 
pretension to extend France to its natural 
frontier, but this is ill-founded on precedent, 
and monstrous as well. Against it we have 
in history that a river-bed is not a natural 
delimitation of territorial domination. 

The Cisalpine Gauls extended their pow- 
ers across the river Po, and the United States 
of America first claimed Oregon by virtue 
of the interpretation that a boundary at a 
river should give control of both banks, 
though how far beyond the other bank they 
might claim is unestablished. 

Until the Lake of Constance is reached, 
with its fine city of the same name at its 
westerly end, there are no cities, towns, or 
villages in which one would expect to find 
ecclesiastical monuments of the first rank; 
indeed, one may say that there are none. 

But the whole Rhine watershed, that great 
18 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

thoroughfare through which Christianizing 
and civilizing influences made their way 
northward from Italy, is replete with me- 
morials of one sort or another of those signif- 
icant events of history which were made 
doubly impressive and far-reaching by rea- 
son of their religious aspect. 

The three tiny sources of the Rhine are 
born in the canton of Grisons, and are known 
as the Vorder-Rhein, the Mittel-Rhein, and 
the Hinter-Rhein. 

At Disentis was one of the most ancient 
Benedictine monasteries of the German Alps. 
It was founded in 614, and stood high upon 
the hillside of Mount Vakaraka, at the con- 
fluence of tsNO of the branches of the Rhine. 
Its abbots had great political influence and 
were princes of the Empire. They were the 
founders of the '^ Gray Brotherhood," and 
w^ere the first magistrates of the region. 

The abbey of Disentis was, in 1799, cap- 
tured and set on fire by the French, but later 
on it was reestablished, only to sufTer again 
from fire in 1846, though it was again rebuilt 
in more modest style. 

St. Trons was the former seat of the 
Parliament of Grisons. Its chief ecclesiasti- 



19 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

cal monument is a memorial chapel dedi- 
cated to St. Anne. 

On its porch one may read the following 
inscription : 

" In lihertatem vocati estis 

Ubi spiritus domini^ ibi lihertas 
In te speraverunt patres 
Speraverunt et liber asti oes,^' 

Coire was the ancient Curia Rhoetiorum. 
It is the capital of the Canton of Grisons, 
and was the seat of a bishop as early as 562. 
The Emperor Constantine made the town 
his winter quarters in the fourth century. 

The church of St. Martin, to-day belong- 
ing to the Reformed Church, is an uncon- 
vincing and in no way remarkable monu- 
ment, but in what is known as the Episcopal 
Court, behind great walls, tower-flanked and 
with heavily barred gateways, one comes 
upon evidences of the ecclesiastical impor- 
tance of the town in other days. 

The walls of the ancient '' ecclesiastical 
city " enclose a plat nearly triangular in 
form. On one side are the canons' residences 
and other domestic establishments, and on 



20 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the other the cathedral and the bishop's 
palace. 

In the episcopal palace are a number of 
fine portraits, which are more a record of 
manners and customs in dress than they are 
of churchly history. 

The small cathedral and all the other edi- 
fices date from an eighth-century foundation, 
and are in the manifest Romanesque style of 
a very early period. 

Within the cathedral are a number of 
funeral monuments of not much artistic 
worth and a series of paintings by Holbein 
and Diirer. As an art centre Coire would 
appear to rank higher than it does as a city 
of architectural treasures, for it was also the 
birthplace of Angelica Kauffmann, who was 
born here in 1741. 

Ragatz is more famous as a '^ watering- 
place " — for the baths of Pfef¥ers are truly 
celebrated — than as a treasure-house of re- 
ligious art, though in former days the abbey 
of PfefTers was of great renown. Its founda- 
tion dates from 720, but the building as it 
exists to-day was only erected in 1665. The 
church, in part of marble, contains some 
good pictures. The abbey was formerly very 
wealthy, and its abbot bore the title of 

21 



Catlicdrals and CImrches of the Rhine 

prince. The convent is to-day occupied by 
the Benedictines, to whom also the baths 
belong. 

From this point on, as one draws near the 
Lake of Constance, the Alpine character of 
the topography somewhat changes. 

The Lake of Constance was known to the 
Romans as Brigantiniis Lacus or the Lacus 
Rheni. It has not so imposing a setting as 
many of the Swiss or Italian lakes, but its 
eighteen hundred square kilometres give the 
city of Constance itself an environment that 
most inland towns of Europe lack. The 
Lake of Constance, like all of the Alpine 
lakes, is subject at times to violent tempests. 
It is very plentifully supplied with fish, and 
is famous for its pike, trout, and, above all, 
its fresh herring. 

From Basel the Rhine flows westward 
under the last heights of the Jura, and turns 
then to the north beneath the shelter of the 
Vosges, and, as it flows by Strasburg, first 
begins to take on that majesty which one 
usually associates with a great river. 

At the confluence of the Main, after pass- 
ing Speyer, Worms, and Mannheim, the 
Rhine first acquires that commercialism 



22 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

which has made it so important to the latter- 
day development of Prussia. 

At the juncture of the Main and Rhine 
is Mayence, one of the strongest military 
positions in Europe to-day. Here the Rhine 
hurls itself against the slopes of the Taunus 
and turns abruptly again to the west, aggran- 
dizing itself at the same time, to a width of 
from five hundred to seven hundred metres. 

Shortly after it has passed the last foot- 
hills of the Taunus, it enters that narrow 
gorge which, for a matter of 150 kilometres, 
has catalogued its name and fame so bril- 
liantly among the stock sights of the globe- 
trotter. 

No consideration of the economic part 
played by the Rhine should overlook the 
two international canals which connect that 
river with France through the Rhone and 
the Marne. 

The first enters the Rhine at Strasburg, 
a small feeder running to Basel, and the 
latter, starting at Vitry-le-Frangois, joins the 
Marne with the Rhine at the same place, 
Strasburg. 

On the frontier of the former departement 
of the Haut-Rhin, one may view an immense 
horizon from the south to the north. From 

23 



Cathedrals and CJmrcIies of the Rhine 

one particular spot, where the heights of 
the Vosges begin to level, it is said that one 
may see the towers of Strasburg, of Speyer, 
of Worms, and of Heidelberg. If so, it is 
a wonderful panorama, and it must have 
been on a similar site that the Chateau of 
Trifels (three rocks) was situated, in which 
Richard Cceur de Lion was imprisoned when 
delivered up to Henry VI. by Leopold of 
Austria. 

To distract himself he sang the songs 
taught him by his troubadour, to the accom- 
paniment of the harp, says both history and 
legend, until one day the faithful Blondel, 
who was pursuing his way up and down the 
length of Europe in search of his royal mas- 
ter, appeared before his window. 

Some faithful knights, entirely devoted to 
their prince, had followed in the wake of 
the troubadour, and were able to rescue 
Richard by the aid of a young girl, Mathilde 
by name, who had recognized the songs sung 
by Blondel as being the same as those of the 
royal prisoner in the tower of the chateau. 
When the troubadour was led to the door 
of the prince's cell, he heard a voice call 
to him: '' Est-ce toi, mon cher Blondel?'' 
" Oui, cest moi, mon seigneur I* replied the 

24 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

singer. '^ Comptez sur mon zele et sur celui 
de quelques amis fideles — nous vous delive- 
rons!' 

The next day the escape was made through 
an overpowering of the guard; and Richard, 
in the midst of his faithful chevaliers, ulti- 
mately arrived in England. 

Blondel had meanwhile led the willing 
Mathilde to the altar, and received a rich 
recompense from the king. 

As the Rhine enters the plain at Cologne, 
it comes into its fourth and last phase. 

Flowing past Diisseldorf and Wesel, it 
quits German soil just beyond Emmerich, 
and enters the Low Countries in two 
branches. The Waal continues its course 
toward the west by Nymegen, and through 
its vast estuary, by Dordrecht, to the sea. 

The Rhine proper takes a more northerly 
course, and, as, the Neder Rijn, passes Arn- 
heim and Utrecht, and thence, taking the 
name of Oud Rijn, fills the canals of Leyden 
and goes onward to the German Ocean. 

Twelve kilometres from Leyden is Kat- 
wyck aan Zee, where, between colossal dikes, 
the Rhine at last finds its way to the open 
sea. More humble yet at its tomb than in 
the cradle of its birth, it enters the tempes- 

25 



Cathedrals and Churches of tJie Rhine 

tuous waters of the German Ocean through 
an uncompromising and unbeautiful sluice 
built by the government of Louis Bonaparte. 

For more than eleven hundred kilometres 
it flows between banks redolent of history 
and legend to so great an extent that it is 
but natural that the art and architecture of 
its environment should have been some 
unique type which, lending its influence to 
the border countries, left its impress through- 
out an area which can hardly be restricted 
by the river's banks themselves. 

We know how, in Germany, it gave birth 
to a variety of ecclesiastical architecture 
which is recognized by the world as a dis- 
tinct Rhenish type. In Holland the archi- 
tectural forms partook of a much more 
simple or primitive character; but they, too, 
are distinctly Rhenish; at least, they have 
not the refulgence of the full-blown Gothic 
of France. 

Taine, in his '' Art in the Netherlands," 
goes into the character of the land, and the 
struggle demanded of the people to reclaim 
it from the sea, and the energy, the vigilance 
required to secure it from its onslaughts so 
that they, for themselves and their families, 
might possess a safe and quiet hearthstone. 

26 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

He draws a picture of the homes thus safe- 
guarded, and of how this sense of immunity 
fostered finally a life of material comfort 
and enjoyment. 

All this had an effect upon local architec- 
tural types, and the great part played by the 
valley of the Rhine in the development of 
manners and customs is not excelled by any 
other topographical feature in Europe, if it 
is even equalled. 

Coupled to the wonders of art are the 
wonders of nature, and the Rhine is bounti- 
fully blessed with the latter as well. 

The conventional Rhine tour of our fore- 
fathers is taken, even to-day, by countless 
thousands to whom its beauties, its legends, 
and its history appeal. But whether one goes 
to study churches, for a mere holiday, or as 
a pleasant way of crossing Europe, he will 
be struck by the astonishing similarity of 
tone in the whole colour-scheme of the 
Rhine. 

The key-note is the same whether he fol- 
lows it up from its juncture with salt water 
at Katwyck or through the gateway of the 
'' lazy Scheldt," via Antwerp, or through 
Aix-la-Chapelle and Cologne. 

Sooner or later the true Rhineland is 
27 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

reached, and the pilgrim, on his way, whether 
his shrines be religious ones or worldly, will 
drink his fill of sensations which are as new 
and different from those which will be met 
with in France, Italy, and Spain as it is 
possible to conceive. 

From the days of Charlemagne, and even 
before, down through the fervent period of 
the Crusades, to the romantic middle ages, 
the Rhine rings its true note in the gamut, 
and rings it loudly. It has played a great 
part in history, and to its geographical and 
political importance is added the always 
potent charm of natural beauty. 

The church-builder and his followers, too, 
were important factors in it all, for one of 
the glories of all modern European nations 
will ever be their churches and the memories 
of their churchmen of the past. 



28 



'Ill 

THE CHURCH IN GERMANY 

There have been those who have claimed 
that the two great blessings bestowed upon 
the world by Germany are the invention 
of printing by Gutenberg, which emanated 
from Mayence in 1436, and the Reformation 
started by Luther at Wittenberg in 15 17. 
The statement may be open to criticism, but 
it is hazarded nevertheless. As to how really 
religious the Germans have always been, one 
has but to recall Schiller's '' Song of the 
Bell." Certainly a people who lay such 
stress upon opening the common every-day 
life with prayer must always have been de- 
voted to religion. 

The question of the religious tenets of Ger- 
many is studiously avoided in this book, as 
far as making comparisons between the Cath- 
olic and Protestant religions is concerned. 

At the finish of the " Thirty Years' War," 
North Germany had become almost entirely 

29 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Protestant, and many of the former bishops' 
churches had become by force of circum- 
stances colder and less attractive than for- 
merly, even though many of the Lutheran 
churches to-day keep up some semblance of 
high ceremony and altar decorations. It 
is curious, however, that many of these 
churches are quite closed to the public on any 
day but Sunday or some of the great holidays. 

In the Rhine provinces the Catholic faith 
has most strongly endured. In the German 
Catholic cathedrals the morning service from 
half-past nine to ten is usually a service of 
much impressiveness, and at Cologne, be- 
loved of all stranger tourists, nones, vespers, 
and compline are sung daily with much 
devotion. 

The ecclesiastical foundation in Germany 
is properly attributable to monkish influ- 
ences. Between the Rhine and the Baltic 
there were no cities before the time of 
Charlemagne, although the settlements es- 
tablished there by the Church for the con- 
version of the natives were the origin of the 
communities from which sprang the great 
cities of later years. 

The monkish orders were ever a power- 
ful body of church-builders, and north of 

30 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the Alps in the eleventh and twelfth cen- 
turies, even though they were the guardians 
of literature as well as of the arts, the monks 
were possessed of an energy which took its 
most active form in church-building. 

Whatever may have been the origin 
of the later Romanesque church-building, 
whether it was indigenous to Lombard Italy 
or not, it was much the same in Spain, 
France, England, and Germany, though it 
took its most hardy form in Germany, per- 
haps with the cathedral of Speyer (1165- 
90), which is one of the latest Romanesque 
structures, contemporary with the early 
Gothic of France. In Italy, and elsewhere 
along the Mediterranean, the pure Roman- 
esque was somewhat diluted by the Byzan- 
tine influence; but northward, along the 
course of the Rhine, the Romanesque influ- 
ence had come to its own in a purer form 
than it had in Italy itself. 

Here it may be well to mention one per- 
tinent fact of German history, in an attempt 
to show how, at one time at least. Church 
and state in Germany were more firmly 
bound together than at present. 

The Germanic Empire, founded by 
Charlemagne in the year 800, was dissolved 

31 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

under Francis II., who, in 1806, exchanged 
the title of Emperor of Germany for that 
of Emperor of Austria, confining himself to 
his hereditary dominions. 

In the olden times the Germanic Empire 
was in reality a league of barons, counts, and 
dukes, who, through seven of their number, 
elected the emperor. 

These electors were the Archbishops of 
Mayence (who was also Primate and Arch- 
chancellor of the Empire), Treves, and Co- 
logne; the Palatine of the Rhine, Arch- 
Steward of the Empire; the Margrave of 
Brandenburg, Arch-Chamberlain; the Duke 
of Saxony, Arch-Marshal; and the King 
of Bohemia, Arch-Cupbearer. 

In no part of the Christian world did the 
clergy possess greater endowments of power 
and wealth than did those of the Rhine 
valley. 

The Archbishop of Cologne was the Arch- 
chancellor of the Empire, the second in rank 
of the electoral princes, and ruler of an im- 
mense territory extending froni Cologne to 
Aix-la-Chapelle; while the Archbishops of 
Mayence and Treves played the role of 
patriarchs, and were frequently more power- 
ful even than the Popes. 

32 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

All the bishops, indeed, were invested with 
rights both spiritual and temporal, those of 
the churchman and those of the grand sei- 
gneur, which they exercised to the utmost 
throughout their dioceses. 

St. Boniface was sent on his mission to 
Germany in 715, having credentials and in- 
structions from Pope Gregory II. He was 
accompanied by a large following of monks 
versed in the art of building, and of lay 
brethren who were also architects. This 
we learn from the letters of Pope Gregory 
and the " Life of St. Boniface," so the fact 
is established that church-building in Ger- 
many, if not actually begun by St. Boniface, 
was at least healthily and enthusiastically 
stimulated by him. 

Among the bishoprics founded by Boni- 
face were those of Cologne, Worms, and 
Speyer, and it may be remarked that all of 
these cities have ample evidences of the 
round-arched style which came prior to the 
Gothic, which followed later. If anything 
at all is proved with regard to the distinct 
type known as Rhenish architecture, it is 
that the Lombard builders preceded by a 
long time the Gothic builders. 

Charlemagne's first efiforts after subduing 
33 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the heathen Saxons was to encourage their 
conversion to Christianity. For this purpose 
he created many bishoprics, one being at 
Paderborn, in 795, a favourite place of resi- 
dence with the emperor. 

Great dignity was enjoyed by the Bishop 
of Paderborn, certain rights of his extending 
so far as the Councils of Utrecht, Liege, and 
Miinster. The abbess of the monastery at 
Essen, near Diisseldorf, was under his rule; 
and the Counts of Oldenberg and the Dukes 
of Cleves owed to him a certain allegiance ; 
while certain rights were granted him by 
the cities of Cologne, Verdun, Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle, and others. 

These dignities endured, in part, until the 
aftermath of the French Revolution, which 
was the real cause of the disrupture of many 
Charlemagnian traditions. 

After the Peace of Luneville, in 1801, the 
electorates of Cologne, Treves, and Mayence 
were suppressed, together with the princi- 
palities of jNIiinster, Hildesheim, Paderborn, 
and Osnabriick, while such abbeys and mon- 
asteries as had come through the Reforma- 
tion were dissolved. 

Besides Charlemagne's bishoprics, others 
founded by Otho the Great were suppressed. 

34 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Upon the restoration of the Rhenish prov- 
inces to Germany in 1814, the Catholic hier- 
archy was reestablished and a rearrangement 
of dioceses took place. A treaty with the 
Prussian state gave Cologne again an arch- 
bishopric, with suffragans at Treves, Miin- 
ster, and Paderborn, and Count Charles 
Spiegel zum Desenburg was made arch- 
bishop. Other provinces aspired to similar 
concessions, and certain of the suppressed 
sees wTre reerected. 

The Lutherized districts, north and east- 
ward of the Rhine, were very extensive, but 
the influence w^hich went forth again from 
Cologne served to counteract this to a great 
extent. 

The Catholic hierarchy in Germany is 
made up as follows: 



ARCHBISHOPRICS 


SUFFRAGANS 


Posen and Gnesen 


Kulin and Ermeland 


Breslau 




Olmiitz 




Prague 




Cologne 


Hildesheim, Osnabriick, Miin- 




ster, Paderborn, Fulda, 




Limburg, Treves, Mayence. 


Freiburg in Breisgau 


Wiirtemberg, Augsburg, 


Munich and Freising 


Passau and Ratisbon. 



35 



Cathedrals and CJiurcJies of tlie Rhine 



ARCHBISHOPIUCS SUFFRAGANS 

Bamberg Wiirzburg, Eichstadt, and 

Speyer, and the Vicariat of 



Dresden. 



Strasburg and Metz 



The religious population of Germany to- 
day is divided approximately thus: Protes- 
tants, 63 per cent. ; Catholics, 36 per cent. ; 
Jews, I per cent. 

The reign of the pure Gothic spirit in 
church-building, as far as it ever advanced 
in Germany, was at an end with the wars 
of the Hussites and the Reformation of 
Luther. During these religious and political 
convulsions, the Gothic spirit may be said 
to have died, so far as the undertaking of 
any new or great work goes. 

Just as we find in Germany a different 
speech and a different manner of living from 
that of either Rome or Gaul, we find also 
in Germany, or rather in the Rhenish prov- 
inces, a marked difference in ecclesiastical 
art from either of the types which were 
developing contemporaneously in the neigh- 
bouring countries. 

The Rhine proved itself a veritable bor- 
derland, which neither kept to the strict 

36 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

classicism of the Romanesque manner of 
building, nor yet adopted, without question, 
the newly arisen Gothic of the twelfth and 
thirteenth centuries. 

Architecture and sculpture in its earliest 
and most approved ecclesiastical forms un- 
doubtedly made its way from Italy to 
France, Spain, Germany, and England, 
along the natural travel routes over which 
came the Roman invaders, conquerors, or 
civilizers — or whatever we please to think 
them. 

Under each and every environment it de- 
veloped, as it were, a new style, the flat roofs 
and low arches giving way for the most part 
to more loft}^ and steeper-angled gables and 
openings. This may have been caused by 
climatic influences, or it may not; at any 
rate, church-building — and other building 
as well — changed as it went northward, and 
sharp gables and steep sloping lines became 
not only frequent, but almost universal. 

The Comacine Masters, who were the 
great church-builders of the early days in 
Italy, went north in the seventh century, still 
pursuing their mission; to England with St. 
Augustine, to Germany with Boniface, and 
Charlemagne himself, as we know, brought 

37 



Catliednils and CliitrcJies of tJie Rliine 

them to Aix-la-Chapelle for the work at his 
church there. 

The distinctly Rhenish variety of Roman- 
esque ecclesiastical architecture came to its 
greatest development under the Suabian or 
Hohenstaufen line of emperors, reaching its 
zenith during the reign of the great Fred- 
erick Barbarossa (1152-90). 

The churches at Neuss, Bonn, Sinzig, and 
Coblenz all underwent a necessary recon- 
struction in the early thirteenth century be- 
cause of ravages during the terrific warfare 
of the rival claimants to the throne of Bar- 
barossa. 

Frederick, one claimant, was under the 
guardianship of Pope Innocent III., and 
Philip, his brother, was as devotedly cared 
for by the rival Pope, Gregory VIII. Fi- 
nally Innocent compromised the matter by 
securing the election of Otho IV., of Bruns- 
wick. 

With that '' hotbed of heresies," Holland, 
this book has little to do, dealing only with 
three centres of religious movement there. 

Holland was the storm-centre for a great 
struggle for religious and political freedom, 
and for this very reason there grew up here 
no great Gothic fabrics of a rank to rival 

-.8 



( 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

those of France, England, and Germany. 
Still, there was a distinct and most pictur- 
esque element which entered into the church- 
building of Holland in the middle ages, as 
one notes in the remarkable church of De- 
venter. In the main, however, if we except 
the Groote Kerk at Rotterdam, St. Janskerk 
at Gouda, the archbishop's church , at 
Utrecht, and the splendid edifice at Dor- 
drecht, there is nothing in Holland archi= 
tecturally great. 



39 



IV 

SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF RHENISH 
ARCHITECTURE 

It cannot be claimed that the church- 
building of one nation was any more thor- 
ough or any more devoted than that of any 
other. All the great church-building powers 
of the middle ages were, it is to be presumed, 
possessed of the single idea of glorifying God 
by the building of houses in his name. 

'' To the rising generation," said the edi- 
tor of the Architectural Magazine in 1838, 
" and to it alone do we look forward for the 
real improvement in architecture as an art 
of design and taste." 

'' The poetry of architecture " was an 
early and famous theme of Ruskin's, and 
doubtless he was sincere when he wrote the 
papers that are included under that general 
title; but the time was not then ripe for 
an architectural revolution, and the people 
could not, or would not, revert to the Gothic 

40 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

or even the pure Renaissance — if there ever 
was such a thing. We had, as a result, what 
is sometimes known as early Victorian, and 
the plush and horsehair effects of contem- 
porary times. 

In general, the churches of Germany, or 
at least of the Rhine provinces, are of a 
species as distinct from the pure Gothic, 
Romanesque, or Renaissance as they well 
can be. Except for the fact that of recent 
years the art nouveau has invaded Germany, 
there is little mediocrity of plan or execution 
in the ecclesiastical architecture of that coun- 
try, although of late years all classes of archi- 
tectural forms have taken on, in most lands, 
the most uncouth shapes, — church edifices 
in particular, — they becoming, indeed, any- 
thing but churchly. 

The Renaissance, which spread from Italy 
just after the period when the Gothic had 
flowered its last, came to the north through 
Germany rather than through France, and 
so it was but natural that the Romanesque 
manner of building, which had 'come long 
before, had a much firmer footing, and for 
a much longer period, in Germany, than it 
had in France. Gothic came, in rudimentary 
forms at any rate, as early here as it did 

41 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

to France or England; but, with true Ger- 
man tenacity of purpose, her builders clung 
to the round-arched style of openings long 
after the employment of it had ceased to be 
the fashion elsewhere. 

This, then, is the first distinctive feature 
of the ecclesiastical edifices erected in Ger- 
many in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries 
when the new Gothic forms were elsewhere 
budding into their utmost beauty. 

One strong constructive note ever rings 
out, and that is that, while the Gothic was 
ringing its purest sound in France and even 
in England, at least three forces were play- 
ing their gamut in Germany, producing a 
species quite by itself w^hich w^as certainly 
not Gothic any more than it was Moorish, 
and not Romanesque any more than was the 
Angevin variety of round-arched forms, 
which is so much admired in France. 

One notably pure Gothic example, al- 
though of the earliest Gothic, is found in 
Notre Dame at Treves, with perhaps another 
in the abbey of Altenburg near Cologne; 
but these are the chief ones that in any way 
resemble the consistent French pointed ar- 
chitecture which we best know as Gothic. 

The Rhenish variety of Romanesque lived 
42 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

here on the Rhine to a far later period, no- 
tably at Bonn and Coblenz, than it did in 
either France or England. 

German church architecture, in general, 
is full of local mannerisms, but the one most 
consistently marked is the tacit avoidance 
of the true ogival style, until we come to the 
great cathedral at Cologne, which, in truth, 
so far as its finished form goes, is quite a 
modern affair. 

In journeying through Northeastern 
France, or through Holland or Belgium, 
one comes gradually upon this distinct fea- 
ture of the Rhenish type of church in a 
manner which shows a spread of its influence. 

All the Low Country churches are more 
or less German in their motive; so, too, are 
many of those of Belgium, particularly the 
cathedral at Tournai and the two fine 
churches at Liege (Ste. Croix and the ca- 
thedral), which are frankly Teutonic; while 
at Maastricht in Holland is almost a replica 
of a Rhenish-Romanesque basilica. 

At Aix-la-Chapelle is the famous ^^ Round 
Church " of Charlemagne, which is some- 
thing neither French nor German. It has 
received some later century additions, but 
the " octagon " is still there, and it stands 

43 



Cathedrals and Churches of the RJime 

almost alone north of Italy, where its prede- 
cessor is found at Ravenna, the Templars' 
Church in London being of quite a different 
order. 

Long years ago this Ravenna prototype, 
or perhaps it was this eighth-century church 
of Charlemagne's, gave rise to numerous cir- 
cular and octagonal edifices erected through- 
out Germany; but all have now disappeared 
with the exception, it is claimed, of one at 
Ottmarsheim, a fragment at Essen, and the 
rebuilt St. Gereon's at Cologne. 

These round churches — St. Gereon's at 
Cologne, the Mathias Kapelle at Kobern, 
and, above all, Charlemagne's Miinster at 
Aix-la-Chapelle, and others elsewhere, nota- 
bly in Italy — are doubtless a survival of a 
pagan influence; certainly the style of build- 
ing was a favourite with the Romans, and 
was common even among the Greeks, where 
the little circular pagan temples were al- 
ways a most fascinating part of the general 
ensemble. 

It would hardly be appropriate in a book 
such as this to attempt to trace the origin 
of Gothic, as we have come to know that 
t\velfth and thirteenth century variety of 
pointed architecture, which, if anything, is 

44 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

French pointed. It has been plausibly 
claimed that, after its introduction into 
France and England, it developed into the 
full-blown style of the fourteenth century, 
which so soon fell before the Renaissance 
in the century following. 

In Germany the process, with differences 
with regard to its chronology, was much the 
same. 

It has been the fashion among writers of 
all weights of opinion to break into an ap- 
parently irresistible enthusiasm with regard 
to Gothic architecture in general, and this, 
so far as it goes, is excusable. Most of us 
will agree that " the folk of the middle ages 
had fallen in love with church-building, and 
loved that their goldsmith's work, and ivo- 
ries, their seals, and even the pierced patterns 
of their shoes should be like little buildings, 
little tabernacles, little ' Paul's windows.' 
Some of their tombs and shrines must have 
been conceived as little fairy buildings; and 
doubtless they would have liked little angels 
to hop about them all alive and blow fairy 
trumpets." 

In the building of the great cathedrals it 
must certainly be allowed that there is an 
element that we do not understand. Those 

45 



Cathedrals and Churches of tJie Rhine 

who fashioned them worked wonder into 
them; they had the ability which children 
have to call up enchantment. " In these 
high vaults, and glistening windows, and 
peering figures, there was magic even to their 
makers." 

Gothic art must ever, in a certain degree, 
be a mystery to us, because we cannot en- 
tirely put ourselves in the place of the men 
of those times. " We cannot by taking 
thought be Egyptian or Japanese, nor can 
we again be Romanesque or Gothic," nor 
indeed can we explain entirely the motif of 
Burmese architecture, which, appearing as a 
blend of Chinese and Indian, stands out as 
the exotic of the Eastern, as does the Gothic 
of the Western, world. 

Only in these latter two species of archi- 
tectural art does stone-carving stand out with 
that supreme excellence w^hich does not ad- 
mit of rivalry, though one be pagan and the 
other Christian. 

Germany, above all other nations of the 
middle ages in Europe, excelled in the 
craftsmanship which fashioned warm, live 
emotions out of cold gray stone, and to-day 
such examples of this as the overpowering 
and splendid cathedrals at Cologne, Ratis- 

46 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

bon, Strasburg, and Miinster rank among 
the greatest and most famous in all the 
world, in spite of the fact that their con- 
structive elements were reminiscent of other 
lands. 

The distinction between French and Ger- 
man building cannot better be described than 
by quoting the following, the first by James 
Russell Lowell on Notre Dame de Chartres, 
and the second by Longfellow on the cathe- 
dral at Strasburg: 

CHARTRES 

^^ Graceful, grotesque, with every new sur- 
prise of hazardous caprices sure to please, 
heavy as nightmare, airy, light as fun, imag- 
ination's very self in stone." 

STRASBURG 

"... A great master of his craft, 
Ervin von Steinbach ; but not he alone, 
For many generations laboured with him. 
Children that came to see these saints in stone, 
As day by day out of the blocks they rose, 
Grew old and died, and still the work went on, 
And on and on and is not yet completed." 

47 



Cathedrals and Churches of tJie Rhine 

The first is typical of the ingenuity and 
genius of the French, the second of the pains- 
taking labour of the Teuton; what more 
were needed to define the two? 

" In Germany and throughout all the ter- 
ritory under the spell of Germanic influence 
the growth of Gothic was not so readily 
accomplished as in France," says Gonse. 

" At best such Gothic as is to be seen at 
Bacharach, Bonn, Worms, etc., is but a va- 
riety, so far as the vaulting goes, of super- 
imposed details on a more or less truthful 
Romanesque framework. At Mayence, Roer- 
mond, and Sinzig, too, it is the domical 
vault which still qualifies the other Gothic 
essentials, and so depreciates the value of 
the Gothic of the Rhine valley when com- 
pared with that of the Royal Domain of 
France." 

The range of mediaeval art and architec- 
ture has been said to run between the fourth 
century and the fourteenth, or from the peace 
of the Church to the coming of the Renais- 
sance. 

This is perhaps definite enough, but the 
scope is too wide to limit any special form 
of art expression, so that one may judge it 



48 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

comparatively with that which had gone 
before or was to come after. 

Mostly, mediaeval art groups itself around 
the two distinct styles of Byzantine and 
Gothic, and they are best divided, one from 
the other, by the two centuries lying between 
the tenth and the twelfth. 

In truth, the architecture of Germany, 
up to the end of the tenth century, was as 
much Byzantine as it was Romanesque, and 
the princes and prelates alike drew the in- 
spiration for their works from imported 
Italians and Greeks, a procedure which gave 
the unusual blend that developed the distinct 
Rhenish architecture. 

The Popes themselves gave a very mate- 
rial aid when they sent or allowed colonies 
of southern craftsmen to undertake the work 
on these great religious edifices of the Rhine 
valley. 

The grander plan of the cathedrals at 
Speyer, Worms, Mayence, Basel, and even 
Treves are all due somewhat to this influ- 
ence, and for that reason they retain even 
to-day evidences of these foreign and even 
Eastern methods, though for the most part 
it is in the crypt and subterranean founda- 
tions only that this is found. 

49 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Carlovingian architecture was perhaps 
more indigenous to Germany than to any 
other part of the vast Empire. " This ex- 
traordinary man," as the historians speak of 
Charlemagne, did much toward developing 
the arts. 

In the southeast, the Grecian Empire was 
already become decrepit in its influences, 
and a new building spirit was bound to have 
sprung up elsewhere. " If Charlemagne," 
says Gibbon, '' had fixed the seat of his em- 
pire in Italy, his genius would have aspired 
to restore, rather than violate the works of 
the Caesars." He confined his predilections 
to the virgin forests of Germany, however, 
and he despoiled Lombardy to enrich his 
northern possessions; as witness the columns 
which he brought from Ravenna and Rome 
wherewith to decorate his palace and church 
at Aix-la-Chapelle. 

No country has preserved finer or more 
numerous examples of Romanesque archi- 
tecture than Germany. The Rhine was so 
powerfully under Roman sway that it 
adopted as a matter of course and without 
question quite all of the tenets and principles 
of the Romanesque; not only with respect 



50 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

to ecclesiastical structures, but as regards 
civil and military works as well. 

On the Rhine, as in Lorraine, Lyonnaise, 
and Central France, the Romanesque en- 
dured with little deviation from Latin tra- 
ditions till quite the end of the thirteenth 
century. 

Later, in the Gothic period, Germany 
returned the compliment and sent Zamodia 
of Freiburg and Ulric of Ulm to lend their 
aid in the construction of the grand fabric 
at Milan; and John and Simon of Cologne 
to Spain to erect that astonishingly bizarre 
cathedral at Burgos. 

Beginning with the revival of the arts in 
Italy, the Renaissance German architects, in 
other countries than Germany, were appar- 
ently few in number and not of their former 
rank. 

Not alone did Italy aid Germany in the 
erection of ecclesiastical monuments, but 
France as well, with the Norman variation 
of the Romanesque and the later developed 
Gothic, sent many monkish craftsmen to lend 
their aid and skill. Their work, however, 
was rather the putting on of finishing touches 
than of planning the general outlines. 

German architecture on the Rhine then 
51 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

was but a development and variation of alien 
importations, which came in time, to be sure, 
to be recognized as a special type, but which 
in reality resembled the Lombardic and the 
Romanesque in its round-arched forms, and 
the Gothic of France in its ogival details. 
German architecture in time, though not so 
much with respect to churches, even went 
so far as to imitate the rococo and bizarre 
ornamentation fathered and named by the 
Louis of France. 

Germany was a stranger to the complete 
development of Gothic architecture long 
after it had reached its maturity elsewhere; 
so, too, it was quite well into the fifteenth 
century before the slightest change was made 
toward the interpolation of Renaissance de- 
tails, and even then it was Renaissance art, 
more than it was Renaissance architecture, 
which was making itself felt. 

The Renaissance came to Germany through 
the natural gateway of the north of Italy; 
although it spread perhaps to some extent 
from France into the Rhine district. 

In truth, German Renaissance has ever 
been heavy and ugly, though undeniably im- 
posing. In both the ecclesiastical and the 
secular varieties it lacked the lightness and 

52 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

grace which in France, so far as domestic 
architecture went, soon developed into a 
thing of surprising beauty. 

What the Renaissance really accomplished 
in Germany toward developing a new^ or 
national style is in grave doubt, beyond hav- 
ing left a legacy of bizarre groupings and 
grotesque and superabundant ornament. In 
France the case was different, and, while in 
ecclesiastical edifices the result was poor and 
banal enough, there grew up the great and 
glorious style of the French Renaissance, 
which, for civic and private buildings of 
magnitude, has never been excelled by the 
modern architecture of any land. 

In Germany proper, as well as in Switzer- 
land, one finds house-fronts and walls cov- 
ered with paintings, which is certainly one 
phase of Renaissance art. But the brush 
alone could not popularize the new style, and 
in religious edifices, at least, the Renaissance, 
as contrasted with the earlier Romanesque, 
never attained that popularity along the 
Rhine that it did in France or England, or 
even in Belgium. 

Civic architecture took on the new style 
with a certain freedom, but religious archi- 
tecture almost not at all. Possibly the 

53 



Cathedrals and Churclies of tJie Rhine 

'' Thirty Years' War '^ ( 1618 - 48) had some- 
what to do with stunting its growth; cer- 
tainly no church-building was undertaken in 
those years, and they were the very ones in 
which, elsewhere, the Renaissance was mak- 
ing its greatest headway. 

Another very apparent reason is that, as 
the major part of the population became 
Protestant, the need of a beautiful church 
edifice itself, as a stimulus to the faith, had 
grown less and less. There was a steady 
growth, perhaps one may as well say a great 
development, in civil architecture through- 
out Germany at this time, but, to all intents 
and purposes, from the early seventeenth 
century onward, the founding and erecting of 
great churches was at an end. 

If one would study the Renaissance in 
Germany he must observe the town halls of 
such cities as Cologne, Paderborn, or Nu- 
remberg, or the great chateaux or castles, 
such as are best represented by ruined Hei- 
delberg. 

Of religious architecture Renaissance ex- 
amples are practically lacking; the most 
convincing details along the Rhine being 
seen in the western tower of the cathedral at 
Mayence. 

54 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

At Hildesheim, at Nuremberg, and at 
Prague there are something more than mere 
" evidences " of the style, and throughout 
Germany, as elsewhere, there are many six- 
teenth and seventeenth century accessories, 
such as altars, baldaquins, tombs, and even 
entire chapels, which are nothing but Renais- 
sance in motive and execution. But there 
are no great Renaissance ground-plans, fa- 
gades, or clochers, which are in any way rep- 
resentative of the style which crept in to 
ring the death-knell of Gothic in France and 
England. 

Perhaps it is for this reason alone that the 
great Gothic cathedral at Cologne was com- 
pleted at a late day with no base Renaissance 
interpolation in its fabric. 



55 



THE ACCESSORIES OF GERMAN CHURCHES 

Up to the tenth century the German basil- 
icas were but copies of the Roman variety. 
Even the great cathedral at Treves, with its 
ground-plan a great square of forty metres 
in extent, was but a gross imitation of the 
Romanesque form of the sixth century. 

Later, in the eighth century, came the 
modified Byzantine form which one sees 
at Aix-la-Chapelle. 

With the eleventh century appeared the 
double-apsed basilicas, but, from this time 
on, German ecclesiastical art divorced itself 
from Latin traditions, and from the simple 
parallelogram-like basilica developed the 
choir and transepts which were to remain 
for ever. 

The crypt is a distinct and prominent fea- 
ture of many German churches. On the 
Rhine curious and most interesting examples 
are very frequent, those at Bonn, Essen, 

56 



Cathedrals and Chtirches of the Rhine 

Miinchen-Gladbach, Speyer, Cologne (St. 
Gereon's), Boppart, and Neuss being the 
chief. All of these are so constructed that 
the level of the pavement is broken between 
the nave and choir, producing a singularly 
impressive interior effect. 

Speyer has the longest, and perhaps the 
largest, crypt in all Germany. 

Where the edifice has remained an adher- 
ent of Catholicism, the crypt often performs 
the function of a place of worship independ- 
ent of the main church, it being fitted up 
with one or more altars and frequently other 
accessories. 

As the crypt, instead of being only an 
occasional attribute, became general, squared, 
or even more rude, capitals replaced the 
antique and classical forms which Christian 
Italy herself had adopted from pagan 
Greece. 

These squared or cubic capitals are par- 
ticularly noticeable at Neuss, at Miinchen- 
Gladbach, in St. James at Cologne, and in 
the old abbeyiof Laach. 

Towers came to be added to the west 
fronts, but the naves often remained roofed 
with visible woodwork, though, by the end 
of the century, the stone-vaulted nave had 

57 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

appeared in the Rhine district, and the pil- 
lars of pagan birth had given way to the 
columns and colonnettes of Latin growth. 

What is known as the German manner of 
church-building had more than one dis- 
tinguishing feature, though none more prom- 
inent than that of the columns of the nave 
and aisles. The naves were in general t\vice 
the width of their aisles, and the bays of the 
nave were made t\vice the width of those 
of the aisles. Hence it followed that every 
pier or column carried a shaft to the groin 
of the aisle vault, and every alternate one 
a shaft to the nave vault; and so grew the 
most distinct of all German features of Ro- 
manesque church-building, alternate light 
and heavy piers in the nave. 

It is on the Rhine, too, that one comes 
upon occasional examples of rococo archi- 
tectural decoration, a species which sounds 
as though it might originally have been Ital- 
ian, but which was originally French. At 
its best it is seldom seen on the exterior, but 
on inside walls and porticoes, notablv at 
Bruchsal on the Rhine, one sees a frankly 
theatrical arrangement of ornate details. 

By the twelfth century the particular va- 
riety of Romanesque architecture which had 

58 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

developed, and still endures, in the Rhine 
valley had arrived at its maturity. 

The thirteenth century saw the interpola- 
tion and admixture of Gothic, which else- 
where, in France in particular, was making 
such great strides. 

Towers multiplied and became lighter and 
more graceful, and great Gothic arched win- 
dows gave place to round-headed ones, 
though scarcely ever to the entire exclusion 
of the latter variety. 

The species of cross-bred style which 
forms the link between the Romanesque and 
Gothic abounds along the Rhine, and ex- 
amples are frequently encountered. 

The semicircular apsides, with a decora- 
tive band beneath the cornices of the exterior 
galleries, are also a distinctly Rhenish detail. 
They are to be seen in St. Peter's at Bach- 
arach, at St. Castor's at Coblenz, St. Mar- 
tin's at Cologne, the cathedral at Bonn, in 
St. Quirinus at Neuss, and again at Limburg. 

The Rhenish bell-towers are a variety dis- 
tinct from the towers and spires usually met 
with, and often terminate suddenly, as if 
they were unfinished. 

Finally, there are a number of churches 
in this region which offer the singular, 

59 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

though not unique, disposition of a chevet 
showing a triple apsis. Notable examples 
of this style are St. Maria in Capitola, St. 
Andrew and St. Martin at Cologne, and St. 
Quirinus at Neuss. 

The churches of the Rhine valley are 
abundantly supplied with steeples, often in 
groups far in excess of symmetry or sense, 
as for instance the outre group at Mayence, 
which is really quite indescribable. 

The Apostles' Church at Cologne, the 
cathedrals at Mayence, Speyer, and Worms, 
and the abbey church of Laach all have 
wonderfully broken sky-lines; w^hile those 
with great central towers, such as at Neuss, 
or the parish church of Sinzig, form another 
class; and the slim-spired churches at An- 
dernach and Coblenz yet another. St. Mar- 
tin's at Cologne is another single-spired 
church, but it rises from its three apses in 
quite a different manner from that of St. 
Quirinus at Neuss, and must be considered 
in a class by itself. 

The minster at Bonn, though having three 
steeples, is not overspired, like that of Ma- 
yence, — indeed, it is perhaps one of the most 
picturesque, if somewhat theatrical, of all 
the spired churches of the Rhine, excepting 

60 



I 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

always Limburg. The openwork spire of 
Freiburg is unequalled in grace by even that 
of Strasburg, whatever may be the actual 
value of its constructive details. 

A marked type of German church archi- 
tecture is that species of building known as 
the Hallenkirch. The variety is found else- 
where, even in France, but still it is dis- 
tinctively German in its inception. 

Usually they are of the triple-naved va- 
riety, i. e., a nave with its flanking aisles, 
with the aisles nearly always of the same 
height as the principal nave. 

There are two great churches of this order 
— though lacking aisles — in France, the 
cathedrals at Rodez and Albi in the south. 

Mostly these great hailed churches exist 
in Westphalia, where there is a fine example 
in the cathedral at Paderborn, and again 
there is St. Ludger at Miinster, and many 
others. In one form or another the type is 
frequently met with throughout Germany^ 
and is therefore to be considered as a dis- 
tinct German architectural expression. 

In summing up, then, one may well con- 
clude that German church architecture, in 
its general plan and outline, is not of the 
amazing beauty of the French, and is in 

6i 



Catliedmls and Churches of the Rliine 

a way lacking in mass effect. With respect 
to details and accessories, however, the Ger- 
man churches are graced with much that 
one would gladly find everywhere as an ex- 
pression of the artistic embellishment of a 
great religious edifice. 

In spite of the austerity of many of these 
German churches in the fabric itself, there 
is frequently an abounding wealth of acces- 
sory detail in fitments and furnishings. 

In France the Revolution made away with 
much decorative embellishment and furni- 
ture of all sorts. The Reformation in Ger- 
many played no such part, and so there is 
left much really artistic detail which con- 
tributes a luxuriance that is wanting in con- 
structive details. 

The universally elaborate carven pulpits 
and choir-stalls are wonders of their kind. 
It is true they are usually of wood instead 
of stone, but it must be remembered that 
the Germans were ever great wood-workers. 

The pulpits of Freiburg and Strasburg are 
thoroughly representative of the best work 
of this kind. They may be said, moreover, 
to be of the Gothic species only, whereas 
similar works elsewhere are most frequently 
of the Renaissance period. 

62 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

In no other European country are the 
altars so rich in detail, the sacristies so full 
to overflowing with jewelled and precious 
metal cups, vases, and chalices, or the cruci- 
fixes, triptychs, and candlesticks so sumptu- 
ous. 

In the cathedral at Aix-la-Chapelle the 
congregation seats itself upon chairs; but 
most frequently in Germany one finds sturdy, 
though movable, oaken benches. 

Of the carved choir-stalls, those at St. 
Gereon's at Cologne are the most nearly per- 
fect of their kind on the Rhine; those at 
Mayence, while elaborately produced, being 
of a classic order which is manifestly pagan 
and out of keeping in a Christian church. 

German churches in general made much 
of the cloister, though not all of the examples 
that formerly existed have come down to us 
undisturbed or even in fragmentary condi- 
tion. But, in spite of the Protestant succes- 
sion to many of the noble minsters, many 
of these cloisters have endured in a fair state 
of preservation. Attached to the western end 
of St. Maria in Capitola at Cologne is an 
admirable example, while the Romanesque 
types at Bonn, at the abbey of Laach, and 
at Essen are truly beautiful. Examples of 

63 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the later pure Gothic construction are those 
at Aix-la-Chapelle and Treves. 

But little exterior sculpture has been pre- 
served in all its originality in the Rhenish 
provinces, revolutionary fury and its after- 
math having accounted for its disappearance 
or mutilation. In the Cistercian church at 
the abbey of Altenburg, there is a plentiful 




Cha?idelier, A ix-la-Chapelle 

display of foliaged ornament, and there are 
the noble statues in the choir of the cathedral 
at Cologne. Mayence has a series of monu- 
ments to the bishop-nobles attached to the 
piers of the nave, and in the Liebfrau Kirche 
at Treves and the cathedral at Strasburg are 
seen the best and most numerous features of 
this nature. 

One of the most unusual of mediaeval 
church furnishings, a sort of chandelier, is 

64 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

seen both at Aix-la-Chapelle and Hildes- 
heim. In each instance it is a vast hoop- 
like pendant which bears the definition of 
coronce lucis. Others are found elsewhere in 
Germany, but not of the great size of these 
two. 

Organ-cases here as elsewhere are mostly 
abominations. The makers of sweet music 
evidently thought that any heavy baroque 
combination of wood-carving and leaden 
pipes was good enough so long as the flow 
of melody was uninterrupted. 

The stained glass throughout the Rhine 
valley is mostly good and unusually abun- 
dant, and the freedom of this accessory from 
fanatical desecration is most apparent. The 
same is true of such paintings as are found 
hung in the churches, though seldom have 
they great names attached to them; at least, 
not so great as would mark them for dis- 
tinction were they hung in any of the leading 
picture galleries of Europe. 

At Essen the baptistery is separated from 
the main church, like that at Ravenna, or at 
Aix-en-Provence, the two foremost examples 
of their kind. A little to the westward of 
this minster, and joined to it by a Roman- 
esque ligature, is a three-bayed Gothic 

65 



Cathedrals and CImrclies of the Rhine 

church which occupies the site, or was built 
up from a former chapel dedicated to St. 
John the Baptist. 





m^ 



, FONT 

Li Mb UR-Cr 




Sooner or later the custom became preva- 
lent of erecting a baptismal font within the 
precincts of the main church itself, thus do- 
ing away with a structure especially devoted 

66 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

to the purpose. This change came in the 
ninth century, hence no separate baptisteries 
are found dating from a later epoch only, 
except as an avowed copy of the earlier 
custom. 

At this time, too, immersion had given 
■ way to sprinkling merely, though in many 
cases the German name still applied is that 
of taufstein, meaning dipping-stone. 

Late examples of fonts were frequently in 
metal, the most remarkable in the Rhine val- 
ley being in St. Reinhold's at Dortmund, in 
St. Maria in Capitola, and St. Peter's at 
Cologne, and in St. Mary's and St. James's 
at Mayence. 

One of the most elaborate, and certainly 
the most beautiful and remarkable of all, 
is the stone font of the cathedral at Limburg. 



67 



VI 

CONSTANCE AND SCHAFFHAUSEN 
Constance 

There is a sentimental interest attached to 
Constance and the lake which lies at its door, 
which has come down to us through the pic- 
tures of the painters and the verses of the 
poets. Aside from this, history has played its 
great part so vividly that one could not forget 
it if he would. 

The city was founded about 297 A. D. In 
after years it fell before the warlike Huns, 
and all but disappeared, until it became the 
seat of a bishop in the sixth century, the juris- 
diction of the bishopric extending for a dozen 
leagues in all directions. 

In the tenth century it became a ville im- 
periale, and by the fifteenth it had a popula- 
tion of more than fort\^ thousand souls, and 
the bishopric counted eight hundred thousand 
adherents. To-day the city proper has de- 

6S 




Constance Cathedral 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

creased in numbers to a population which 
hovers closely about the five thousand 
mark. 

The emperors convoked many Diets at Con- 
stance, and in 1183 the peace was signed here 
betwxen the Emperor Barbarossa and the 
Lombard towns. 

The cathedral, or miinster, of Constance 
is dedicated to '' Our Lady," and is for the 
most part a highly satisfying example of a 
Renaissance church, though here and there 
may be noticed the Gothic, which was erected 
on the eleventh-century foundations. 

The fagade has been restored in recent 
years, and is flanked by two pseudo-Roman- 
esque towers or campaniles in the worst of 
taste. 

The interior is divided into three naves by 
columns bearing rounded arches. Above, in 
the grand nave, are a series of round-headed 
windows, while those in the aisles are ogival. 

The choir contains a series of Gothic stalls 
in stone, which, unless it has very recently 
been scraped ofiP, are covered with the ordi- 
nary cheap whitewash. 

The painted vaulting is atrocious, and, 
while its hideous colouring lasts, it matters 
little whether it is of the Romanesque barrel 

71 



Cathedrals and Churches of tJie Rliine 

style or ogival. The nervures are there, so 
it must belong to the latter variety, but it is 
all so thickly covered with what looks like 
enamel paint and gaudy red and blue '' lin- 
ing '' that it is painful to contemplate. 

There is a fine statue of John Huss sup- 
porting the pulpit. It is an adequate monu- 
ment to one who made history so vivid that 
it reads almost like legend. In the pavement 
is a plaque of copper which indicates the 
spot where Huss stood when his sentence was 
read out to him. According to tradition — 
some have said that it was the ecclesiastical 
law — Huss was hurled from the church by 
a coup de pled. 

The organ-case, of the fifteenth century, 
which backs up the inside w^all of the facade, 
is one of the most gorgeous of its kind extant, 
although there is no very high art expression 
to be discovered in the overpowering mass of 
mahogany and lead pipes w^hich, with inade- 
quate supports, hangs perilously upon a wall. 

This particular organ-case is richly sculp- 
tured with foliage and figures of men, de- 
mons, and w^hat not. If it is symbolic, it is 
hard to trace the connection between any re- 
ligious motive and the actual appearance of 
this ungainly mass of carved wood. 

72 



Cathedrals and Ch^irches of the Rhine 

There is in the cathedral an elaborate alle- 
gorical painting by Christopher Storer, a 
native of Constance, and executed in 1659 by 
the order of Canon Sigismund Miiller, who 
died in 1686, and whose tomb is placed near 
by. 

An immense retable is placed at the head 
of the nave. It is of fine marble, and, though 
a seventeenth-century copy of Renaissance, is 
far more beautiful than such ornaments usu- 
ally are outside of Italy. 

At the head of the left aisle is a chapel 
which also has an elaborate marble retable 
of the same period. At the summit is a cruci- 
fix, and below in niches are statues of St. 
Thomas, of Constantine, and of his mother, 
Ste. Helene. In the same chapel is a " Christ 
in the tomb," in marble, surrounded by the 
twelve apostles. 

From the same aisle ascends a charming 
ogival staircase ornamented with statues and 
bas-reliefs. Separating the chapels from the 
aisles are two magnificent iron grilles. In a 
Gothic chapel near the entrance is a fine cul 
de lampe sculptured to represent the history 
of Adam and Eve. 

A cloister exists, in part to-day as it did 
of yore, to the northeast of the cathedral. It 

73 



Catliedrals and Churclies of tJie Rhine 

is a highly beautiful example of fifteenth-cen- 
tur}' work, with its arcades varying from the 
firm and dignified early Gothic to the more 
flamboyant st}'le of later years. 

The church of St. Stephen is another eccle- 
siastical treasure of Constance with a rank 
high among religious shrines. 

St. Stephen's occupies the site formerly 
given to a chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas, 
while not far away there was, in other times, 
another known under the name of Maria 
Unter der Linden. The Bishop Salomon 
III., who occupied the see from 891 to 919, 
enlarged the first chapel, which was further 
embellished in 935 by the Bishop Conrad of 
Altdorf, who added a choir thereto. 

This in time came to be known as St. 
Stephen's. It was entirely renovated in 1047- 
51 by the Bishop Theodoric, who was in- 
terred therein upon his death. The church 
served as the meeting-place of the famous 
Roman tribunal known as the Sacra Rota Ro- 
mana. Under the Bishop Otto III., who was 
Margrave of Hochberg, it was entirely recon- 
structed in 1428, and to-day it is this fifteenth- 
century building that one sees. Previously, 
if the records tell truly, the great windows 
of the clerestory contained coloured glass of 



Cathedrals and Chitrches of the Rhine 

much beauty, but the remains of to-day are 
so fragmentary as to only suggest this. 

From 1522 to 1548 St. Stephen's was con- 
secrated to the followers of Luther, the first 
incumbent under this belief being the famous 
Jacob Windner of Reutlingen. 

The exterior of St. Stephen's is not in any 
way remarkable. The bell-tower, which is 
very high, is a great square tower to the left 
of the choir, surmounted by a steeple formerly 
covered with wooden shingles, but in recent 
times coppered. The clock in this tower was 
the gift of Bishop Otto III. There is also 
a fine chime of bells, which will remind one 
of the churches of the Low Countries when 
he hears its limpid notes ring out upon the 
still air. 

The interior has been* newly whitened with 
that peculiar local brand of whitewash, and 
while bright and cheerful to contemplate, is 
also very bare, caused perhaps by the vast 
size of the nave and choir. 

The aisles are separated from the nave by 
ogival arches, rising from a series of octagonal 
pillars, upon which are hung statues of the 
twelve apostles. The wooden roof of the nave 
and its aisles is curious and dates from 1600, 
but it is mostly hidden by a plaster covering 

75 



Catlicdrals and Cliurches of tJie Rhiiie 

which was added in the early nineteenth cen- 
tury. 

The gilded and highly decorated organ and 
its case dates from 1583. In 1819 and 1839 
it was '' restored," whatever that may mean 
with regard to an organ, and at some time 
between the two dates were added t^vo colossal 
figures of David and St. Cecilia. There are 
numerous and elaborate paintings in St. Ste- 
phen's which would make many more popu- 
lar shrines famous. The most notable are 
" St. John before King Wenceslas," ^' The 
Stoning of St. Stephen," " The Glor\- of the 
Lamb," and an " Adoration," the work of 
Philip Memberger, who painted this last at 
the time of the reestablishment of the Cath- 
olic faith at Constance in 1550. A portrait 
of the artist is preserv^ed in the sacristy. 

Many other works of art were demolished 
or carried away in the years of the Reforma- 
tion. 

In 1414 three Popes disputed the honour 
of occupying the Holy See, John XXIII., 
Gregory XII., and Benoit XIII. The Em- 
peror Sigismund, after having met the depu- 
ties of each of the aspirants at Como and 
Lodi, assembled a council to put an end, if 
possible, to the anarchv which had arisen 

76 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

within the Church. Its place of meeting 
was Constance, and the emperors, kings, 
princes, cities, churches, and universities of 
Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Bo- 
hemia, and Italy all sent their deputations. 
France was represented by Pierre d'Ailly, 
Archbishop of Cambrai, and Jean Gerson, 
the chancellor of the University of Paris. 

The Council of Constance was the most 
numerous body which had ever been called 
together on behalf of the Church. It opened 
its sessions on the 5th of November, 1414, 
and continued until the 12th of April, 
1418. 

John XXIII. declared that he would ab- 
dicate if his two competitors would agree 
to follow his example. Gregory XII. agreed 
to this and sent his abdication to the council 
by an ambassador, Carlo Malatesta; but 
Benoit XIII. fled to Spain and still clung 
tenaciously to the title of Pope. Finally, 
^ at a conclave composed of thirty-two cardi- 
nals, Othon Colonna was, in 1417, elected 
Pope under the name of Martin V. 

The council held at Constance which 
condemned John Huss, who was a Wyclif 
disciple before he was one of Luther's, took 
place in 1414. Huss was condemned to be 

77 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

burned alive in 141 5, and "he mounted the 
pile," says history, '' with the courage of a 
martyr." 

One may see in the Place Briihl, a kilo- 
metre from the centre of Constance, the very 
spot where the " pile " was erected. 

The present customs warehouse (Kauf- 
haus) formed Constance's famous council- 
chamber, and to-day it is one of the most 
interesting curiosities of the city. 

The grand council-chamber is situated 
on the first floor of the building, and was 
erected in 1388. Its length approximates two 
hundred feet, and it is perhaps one hundred 
in width with a height of twenty feet. 

The ceiling is held aloft by fourteen 
wooden pillars, and there are twenty-three 
windows. 

There are no traces of wall decorations, 
and the opinion is hazarded that the walls 
and pillars were, at the time of the council, 
hung with draperies. 

From the windows there is a fine view of 
the Lake of Constance, and but a little dis- 
tance away is the Franciscan convent, now 
transformed into a factory, where was in- 
carcerated John Huss previous to his martyr- 
dom. 

1^ 



Cathedrals and Chtirches of the Rhine 

Schajfhausen 

Of the falls of Schaffhausen, Victor Hugo 
wrote: '' Effroyabie tumulte/' This is the 
first impression. The four grand, overflowing 
channels of the cataract tumble, rise and 
redescend in an eternal tempest of rage. 

A musical German once said that the only 
way to express the tumult of Schaffhausen's 
fall was to " put it to music." He probably 
had Wagner in mind, and perhaps there are 
persons who could conjure up a picture of 
its foam-decked course by means of the 
master's harmonies. 

Montaigne was of a more practical turn 
of mind. He said: '' Cela arrete le cours 
des bateaux et interrompt la navigation de 
ladite riviere/' 

Compared with Niagara, Victoria Ny- 
anza, or the great cataract at Yosemite, the 
falls of Schaffhausen depict no great splen- 
dour of aspect, though they are tumultuous 
and unqualifiedly picturesque. Furthermore, 
they form a pretty setting for the little city 
of some five thousand souls which bears the 
same name. 

With Basel, Schaffhausen has preserved its 
mediaeval character far more than the other 

79 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

cities of Switzerland. Its streets are narrow 
and irregular, and most of its houses are 
of the deep-gabled variety, many of them 
having their fronts frescoed in truly theatri- 
cal fashion, the effect, as might be supposed, 
being highly pleasing. 

Schaffhausen owes its prominence in the 
commercial world to its falls, which make 
it necessary for merchandise making its way 
between Constance and the Lower Rhine to 
be transshipped at this point. The traffic is 
by no means so large as that which goes on 
in the Lower Rhine, but it does exist in pro- 
portions so considerable as to justify a cer- 
tain activity in this old-world town which 
is noticeable to-day, and which has existed 
for many centuries. The name Schaff- 
hausen (Schiffhausen) comes, it is claimed, 
from the houses of the boatmen, and this 
seems sufficiently plausible to be accepted 
without question. 

The Fortress of Munoth dominates the 
city, crowning the height of Mont Emmers. 
It occupies the site of an ancient Roman 
stronghold, and, like its fellows which crown 
the heights bordering upon the German 
Rhine, is formidable in its grimness if not 
for its actual value in modern warfare. 

80 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

In 1052, Count Eberhardt of Nellenburg 
founded an abbey here, and accorded to the 
abbot rights and powers without limitation, 
so far as the count's seigneurial lands were 
concerned. To-day, however, Schaffhausen 
is not rich in ecclesiastical monuments. Its 
cathedral is a Byzantine edifice of the twelfth 
century, and is a development from the 
church of the ancient abbey founded by 
Count Eberhardt. 

There are no constructive or decorative 
details which call for remark, save twelve 
columns, each cut from a solid block of sand- 
stone. They measure perhaps twenty feet in 
height, and are three feet or more in cir- 
cumference. 

There is no resemblance between the ar- 
chitecture of this church and others in the 
Rhine valley; therefore it cannot be consid- 
ered as typical of any Rhenish manner of 
building. 

St. John's is an ogival edifice also without 
any great merit, unless it be that of a gran- 
deur which is contrastingly out of place in 
its cramped surroundings. 

Below Schafifhausen is Sackingen, the third 
forest city of the Rhine. It owes its origin 



81 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

to a convent of St. Hilaire, founded in the 
sixth century by St. Fridolin. 

The '' Lives of the Saints " recounts how 
St. Columba and his disciples left Ireland 
and came to Constance, where they separated 
and went their various ways to evangelize 
the Rhine valley. To St. Fridolin fell that 
part lying between Basel and Laufenburg. 
His bones are yet venerated in the church 
of St. Hilaire. 




82 



VII 

BASEL AND COLMAR 
Basel 

After traversing several of the Swiss can- 
tons, the Rhine leaves Switzerland at Basel. 
After the breaking up of the vast empire of 
Charlemagne, Basel came first under the 
authority of the Emperors of Germany, and 
then under that of the kings of the second 
house of Burgundy, until 1032, at which time 
the city became definitely incorporated into 
the German Empire. 

Rudolph of Hapsburg besieged the city 
in 1274, and through the fourteenth and well 
into the fifteenth century it was the theatre 
of many struggles between the bishops and 
the emperors. 

In 1061 and 143 1 important councils of 
the Church were held here. 

In 1489, at the village of Dornach, scarce 
half a dozen miles from Basel, took place 
that battle between six thousand Swiss and 

83 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

fifteen thousand Austrians which made pos- 
sible the future independence of Switzerland. 

During the sixteenth century Basel en- 
joyed a glorious era with respect to science 
and art. 

Its university, the oldest in Switzerland, 
founded by Pius II., shone brilliantly with 
the reflected light of the philosopher Eras- 
mus, the alchemist Paracelsus, and many 
theologians and geographers. Hans Hol- 
bein was born here in the seventeenth cen- 
tury. 

The Rhine divides the city into two un- 
equal parts, which are connected by a bridge 
which was originally constructed in 1220. 

Although Basel bears even yet, in its archi- 
tecture, the stamp of an imperial city of the 
middle ages, it must be counted as somewhat 
modern. Nevertheless, of all the cities of 
the first rank in Switzerland it resisted the 
march of innovation the longest. For in- 
stance, there was a time when all the clocks 
of the city were an hour behind those of 
their neighbours. In 1778, however, the 
Swiss government decreed that on the first 
of the following January all the clocks of 
the city must be regulated by solar time. 
The innovation excited the indignation of 

84 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the people exceedingly; but, fifteen days 
after the date originally set, the city fell in 
with the new regulation, and took up anew 
the routine of its life. 




B^LE. 



" The most magnificent of the Swiss 
women," says a gallant French writer, " are 
those of Basel, but they know too much (at 
all times and all places)," he continued, some- 
what dulling the effect of his praises. 

85 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

" They have an elegance of carriage and 
dress, which, added to their naturally agree- 
able qualities, gives them a preeminence over 
all other women of Switzerland." 

All this is as flowery a compliment as the 
fair sex of any country could receive, and, 
judging from appearances, as one lingers a 
few hours or a few days in Basel, it is all 
true. 

The most remarkable of all the edifices of 
Basel is its cathedral, or miinster, dedicated 
to the Virgin. 

In certain of its features one finds a dis- 
tinct Lombard influence, — in its sculptures 
and carvings, notably the two carved lions in 
the crypt, which are the counterparts of 
others at Modena and Verona in Italy, — 
though in general it is a Gothic structure. 

The cathedral was founded by the Em- 
peror Henry II. of Bavaria in loio, and was 
dedicated in 1019. 

It is constructed of red sandstone, as are 
the chief of the architectural monuments 
along the Rhine, and is an imposing example 
of the Gothic of that time. 

The great portal on the west is richly dec- 
orated in the archivolt. It is flanked on 
either side by an arcade w^hose buttress pil- 

86 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

lars are each surmounted by a statue in a 
canopied niche or baldaquin. 

At the foot of the north tower is an eques- 
trian statue of St. George and the Dragon, 
and at the angle of the southern tower is 
another of St. Martin. 

Two small doorways, each entering the 
side aisles, flank the arcade of the portal. 
Above the principal doorway of this fagade 
is a balcon a jour before the great window 
which lights the main nave. 

The towers rise beside this great window, 
and are of themselves perhaps the most re- 
markable features of the church. 

They are not exactly alike, but they reflect 
more than any other part of the edifice the 
characteristics of the Gothic of these parts. 
The northern tower was completed in 1500, 
and is sixty-six metres in height. The south- 
ern tower is perhaps more ornate, and re- 
sembles, if somewhat faintly, Texier's beau- 
tiful spire at Chartres. 

The ogival windows of the side walls are 
strong and of ample proportions. 

At the extremity of the north transept is 
a doorway known as the Porte de St. Gall, 
decorated with statues of the four evangelists. 
Above is a great round window of the vari- 

^7 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

ety so commonly seen in France. It is here 
known as the '' Wheel of Fortune." It is 
not a particularly graceful design, the rays 
or spokes being formed of tiny colonnettes, 
but is interesting nevertheless and quite un- 
usual along the Rhine. 

The coping of the roof of the nave is 
formed of party-coloured tiles, which give 
it a singular bizarre ejffect when viewed from 
near by. 

The interior divides itself in the conven- 
tional manner into three naves, which are 
bare and with no ornamentation whatever. 

The pulpit is a real work of art, and there 
are some sculptured capitals in the choir 
which are quite excellent. 

The baptismal fonts are elaborately carved. 
One of these, bearing the date of 1465, is 
shaped something like a gigantic egg-cup. 
Its bowl springs from the stem in eight 
facets, sculptured to illustrate the baptism 
of Christ in the waters of the Jordan, with 
figures of St. Lawrence, St. Jacques, St. Paul, 
St. Pierre, and St. Martin. 

Holbein once made a series of decorations 
for the organ-case of this church, but they 
exist no longer. 

Beneath the edifice, with its entrance from 
88 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the choir, is a crypt nearly as large as the 
nave itself, with a series of massive pillars 
supporting its vault and the pavement of the 
church proper. 

There are numerous monuments within the 
church, including one to Erasmus, the illus- 
trious Hollander who had made Basel his 
second home. 

A stairway leads from the church to the 
chamber where was held, from 143 1 to 1444, 
the famous Council of Basel. It is a vast, 
bare room, with no furniture whatever, ex- 
cept the benches upon which sat the prelates 
assembled at the council. 

The cloister attached to the cathedral is 
daintily planned and contains a number of 
tombs of celebrated persons. 

Behind the church is a magnificent terrace 
known as the Pf alz. It is planted with chest- 
nut-trees, and its elevation, high above the 
level of the Rhine waters, makes it a mag- 
nificent promenade. 

The Hotel of the Three Kings — though 
it is to-day a modern structure that one sees 
— was, in the ninth century, the meeting- 
place of Conrad III., Henry III., and Ru- 
dolph III., the last King of Burgundy. Fol- 
lowing another tradition, the house derived 

80 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rlilne 

its nomenclature from the reliques of " the 
Three Magi/' which were lodged here when 
on their journey, in 1161, from Milan to 
Cologne. 

In the museum at Basel are r^vo of Hol- 
bein's sketches made from statues in the 
Sainte Chapelle at Bourges in France. They 
represent the Duke Jean de Berry and his 
wife, Jeanne de Boulogne. It seems rather 
curious that a great draughtsman like Hol- 
bein should deliberately have set himself to 
copying from a cast, which is practically 
what it amounted to in this case, charming 
though these drawings be. 

Colmar 

Colmar, the chief town of the " circle 
of Colmar," was once strongly fortified. It 
still has something more than fragments left 
of its seven towered and turreted gates. 

Formerly it was the capital of Upper Al- 
sace, and later it was the capital of the De- 
partement du Haut Rhin. As a result of 
the war of 1871 it became a German cit\\ 

To Americans and Frenchmen it will per- 
haps be most revered as being the birthplace 
of Auguste Bartholdi, the designer of the 

90 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

celebrated Statue of Liberty at New York. 
(There is a smaller counterpart at Paris, 
on the He des Cygnes in the Seine, which 
is often overlooked by visitors to the capital.) 

The church of St. Martin is a thirteenth- 
century Gothic church of more than usual 
splendour. Its fine foundations date from 
1237, and its choir from 13 15. It is of the 
conventional Latin cross form, with two 
imposing towers and a really grand portal. 
It is built of red sandstone, and is sur- 
mounted with a wonderfully massive steeple, 
which looks more like an adjunct to a for- 
tification than a dependency of a Christian 
edifice. There is a counterpart of this fea- 
ture in the cathedral at Dol in Brittany, but 
there it has the added detail of a crenelated 
parapet, w^hich gives it a still more military 
air. 

In other days this great tower on St. Mar- 
tin's at Colmar served the purposes of a civic 
belfry as well as that of a Christian cam- 
panile. 

In the sacristy of this rather grim church 
is an admirable fifteenth-century work of art, 
a Virgin surrounded by garlands of roses, 
executed by Schongauer, a native of Colmar 



91 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

(1450-88) and one of the greatest painters 
and sculptors of the fifteenth century. 

There is the restored fabric of the famous 
convent of the Dominicans, known as Unter- 
linden, which is to be considered as one of 
the chief curiosities of the town. It was 
built in 1232, before even the church of 
St. Martin, and its history was exceedingly 
prominent in the records of mysticism in 
Germany. 

The conventual establishment was sup- 
pressed at the time of the Revolution, but 
in the mid-nineteenth century it was rebuilt 
with a great deal of thought for the repro- 
duction of the Gothic architecture of the era 
of its inception. 




92 



VIII 

FREIBURG 

The steeple of Freiburg is quite the rival 
of that of Strasburg; some even may think 
it more beautiful. 

It has braved with impunity the winds 
and tempests of many centuries, and stands 
to-day as beautiful a work of its kind, when 
one is away from Strasburg, Chartres, Ant- 
werp, or Malines, as one can well conceive. 

Its appearance is indeed magnificent, with 
a richness of ornament which has not been 
carried to the excess that would make it 
tawdry, and an outline which in every pro- 
portion is just and true. 

Each day brings new admirers to this 
shrine, and one and all, antiquarians and 
cursory travellers alike, go away with an 
enthusiastic regard for its charms. 

Freiburg itself does not go very far back 
into antiquity. It owes its origin to Berthold 
III., Duke of Zahringen, who founded it 

93 



Cathedrals and Clutrclics of the Rhine 

in 1118 and made it the capital of Breisgau, 
one of the most fertile districts of the ancient 
German duchy. 

The cathedral at Freiburg marks the open- 
ing of a new era in the Christian architecture 
of Germany. It was founded in 1122 by the 
Duke of Zahringen, soon after he took over 
the guardianship of the city, but it was only 
in 15 13 that it w^as entirely completed. 

Nothing now remains of the primitive 
church except the transept and the base of 
the lateral portals. The nave dates from 
the middle of the thirteenth century, and the 
choir was mostly rebuilt at the same time. 
The dedication did not take place until a 
century and a half later. 

The structure is in the conventional form 
of a Latin cross, with the usual nave and 
aisles and a series of chapels surrounding 
the apside. 

The facade is remarkable for the porch, 
which is highly ornamented with sculpture 
and forms the lowest story of the tower. 

The pediment above the entrance is gar- 
nished with statuary representing the crow^n- 
ing of the Holy Virgin, while just below, 
at the sides, are two kneeling figures, with 
crowns on their heads, bent in prayer. 

94 




REIBURG CATHEDRAL 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Besides this gallery of saintly figures, there 
are also sculptured symbols which, in such 
a company, might well be thought profane: 
figures representing Geometry, Music, Arith- 
metic, and the Arts. 

In the tower, above the porch, is a chapel 
dedicated to St. Michael, lighted by three 
ogival windows. It is now a bare, uninter- 
esting chamber, its altar and decorations hav- 
ing disappeared. 

The third story of the tower forms the 
belfry, from which springs the gently taper- 
ing and beautiful spire which rises to a 
height only forty feet less than that of Stras- 
burg. 

The dwindling spire has a dozen facets 
which in some mysterious way unite with the 
octagon of the belfry in a manner that leaves 
nothing to criticize. 

Within the cathedral there are some ac- 
ceptable mural decorations in the wall space 
above the western arch of the transept cross- 
ing. There are also a number of funeral 
monuments, finely sculptured and quite re- 
markable of their kind. One, a '' Christ in 
the Sepulchre," is admirably executed in the 
sixteenth-century style of Koempf, who is 
responsible also for the elaborate pulpit. 

95 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

There are two other churches in Freiburg 
of more than usual interest; the parish 
church with a fine fourteenth-century clois- 
ter, and the Protestant temple, a modern 
structure in the Byzantine style, which has 
been built up on the remains of the church 
belonging to the ancient Benedictine convent 
of Tonnenbach, which existed in the twelfth 
century. 

In the chapel of the university are a num- 
ber of paintings by Holbein. 




96 



IX 

STRASBURG 

The greatest curiosity of Strasburg is the 
Rhine; after that, its cathedral. 

Uusually, on entering Strasburg, the first 
landmark that greets one's eye is the slim, 
lone spire of the cathedral. 

Years ago an itinerant showman travelled 
about with a model of the celebrated Stras- 
burg clock, and the writer got his first ideas 
of a great Continental cathedral from the 
rather crude representation of the Gothic 
beauties of that at Strasburg, which graced 
the canvas which hung before the showman's 
tent. 

The clock is still there, in all its mystical 
incongruity, but one's interest centres in the 
grace and elegance of the dwindling spire 
and its substructure of nave, transept, and 
choir, which dominates all else round about. 

Of many eras, the stru<:ture of this great 
Latin-cross cathedral is not harmonious ; but^ 

97 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

for all that, it is a great Gothic triumph, and 
one which might well lend most of its details 
of construction and decoration to any great 
church, and still add a charm which was 
hitherto absent. 

Strasburg has in all fifteen churches, but 
the cathedral is possessed of more and greater 
glories than all the others combined. 

From the days when Strasburg was the Ar- 
gentoratum of the Romans, the city has ever 
been the scene of an activity which has made 
its importance known through all the world. 
It was sacked by Attila and his Huns in 451, 
and was completely abandoned up to the sev- 
enth century, when one of the sons of Clovis 
built it up anew and gave to it the name of 
Strateburgum. 

Ptolemy is said to be the first writer who 
mentions Argentoratum, the ancient Stras- 
burg. 

What a bitter blow the loss of Alsace-Lor- 
raine, of which Strasburg was the gem, was 
to France can only be realized by a contem- 
plation of the sentiment which even yet at- 
taches to the event. 

That the allied provinces were French in 
spirit as well as Catholic in religion is dem- 
onstrated by the fact that, at the time of the 

98 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

German occupation, there was a population 
of over a million and a half of souls, of which 
quite a million and a quarter were of the 
Roman Catholic faith. About a million and 
a quarter were natives of Alsace-Lorraine, 
one hundred thousand were Germans, and 
thirty odd thousand were foreigners. 

The present cathedral was erected on a site 
that had been consecrated to religion in very 
early times. It had been a sacred place in 
the time of the Romans, though the deities 
worshipped were pagan, a temple to Her- 
cules and Mars having been erected here. 

The first Christian church was built, it is 
believed, in the fifth century, by St. Amand, 
then Bishop of Strasburg. 

This first church of Strasburg, which was 
a wooden structure, was probably founded 
by Clovis, 504, and reconstructed by Pepin- 
le-Bref and Charlemagne. It was mostly des- 
troyed by fire in 873, and in 1002 was pillaged 
and fired anew by the soldiers of Duke Her- 
mann, who was condemned himself to repair 
the damage. Lightning destroyed it again in 
1007, and, by the time the new structure was 
thought of, nothing but the crypt of Charle- 
magne's edifice was visible. 

From the proceeds received from Duke 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Hermann, and contributions from all Chris- 
tianity, Bishop Werner conceived a vast 
scheme of a new church which in time was 
completed and consecrated. 

This in turn fell before the ravages of fire, 
and nothing but a mass of debris remained, 
from which the present structure was begun 
in 1277. 

The ancient church foundation of Stras- 
burg was peculiarly arranged, after a manner 
most unusual in a cathedral church. The 
ground-plan of the ecclesiastical establishment 
was not unlike those of the monkish com- 
munities which were so plentifully scattered 
over Europe, but it was built for use as a 
church, and for the bishop and his clerics, 
instead of being merely a secular monas- 
tery. 

The following diagram explains this un- 
usual arrangement. 

The masonic theory with regard to the con- 
struction of these mediaeval ecclesiastical 
monuments is of much interest in connection 
with Strasburg. The lodge at Strasburg was 
the earliest in the north of which we have any 
knowledge, and Ervin von Steinbach himself 
seems to have been at the head of it, which 
fact proves that he was one of the first of 

100 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 



secular architects engaged upon a great relig- 
ious work. 

Great opportunities and privileges were 
conferred upon him by Rudolph of Haps- 



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9 


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1 I 


1 1 


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1 1 

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9 9 


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11 11 






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II II 





Ancient Church Foundation^ Strasburg 



A — Habitation of bishops and clerics 

B — Cour commune 

C — Part assigned to women 

D — Part assigned to men 

E — For preaching 



F — For penitents 

G — Doors 

H — Altars 

I — Pulpits 

K — Choir for clergy 



burg, and the masonic lodge of which he was 
the head had the power, over a wide extent 
of territory, to maintain order and obedience 
among the workmen under its jurisdiction. 

lOI 



Cathedrals a7td Churches of the Rhine 

In 1278 Pope Nicholas III. issued a bull, 
giving the body absolution, and this was re- 
newed by his successors up to the time of 
Benedict XII. 

lodoque Dotzinger, master of the works at 
Strasburg in 1452, formed an alliance between 
the different lodges of Germany. 

It was an appreciative Frenchman — and 
all Frenchmen are appreciative and fond of 
Strasburg, because of what it once was to them 
— that said: ''ha cathedrale est un mer- 
veille unique au monde." Continuing, he 
said : " Those who have not seen it know not 
the gaiete lumineuse of a Gothic church." 

All of this is of course quite true from some 
points of view. 

There is, however, something pitiful about 
the general aspect of this great Gothic church. 
Its lone spire, standing grim and gaunt against 
a background of sky, makes only the more 
apparent the incompleteness of the struc- 
ture. 

Its fagade is certainly marvellous, quite 
rivalling those of Reims and Toul, not so very 
far away across the French border. 

The triple porch of the fagade is rich in 
sculpture, the most remarkable groups being 
^'The Wise and Foolish Virgins," ^' The 

102 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Prophets," '' The Last Judgment," and 
'^ Christ and the Twelve Apostles." 

A great rose window, a reminiscence of the 
masterpieces so frequently seen in France, also 
decorates this elaborate fagade. 

The south portal is in the form of two 
round-arched doorways, and is a survival, 
evidently, of one of the earliest epochs of this 
style of construction. It is ornamented with 
bas-reliefs and statues symbolical of the tri- 
umph of Christian religion. There has re- 
cently been erected before this portal a statue 
of the great architect of the fabric, Ervin, 
and another of his son. 

The spire, one of the most elevated in 
Europe, is 440 feet, while that of Cologne is 
482 feet, Rouen is 458 feet, and Notre Dame 
at Paris but 200 feet in height. 

Usually church edifices are grim and gray; 
but Strasburg presents, in its sandstone of the 
Vosges, a beautiful tone, which in the wester- 
ing sun of a summer's day can only be de- 
scribed as a rose-pink, and is like no other 
church edifice in Europe, unless it be the 
cathedral at Rodez in Mid-France, which 
Henry James called mouse-coloured, but 
which in reality is a sort of warm, deep rose. 

A fine lacework of colonnettes covers the 
103 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

entire facade, which six centuries have turned 
to the colour of iridescent copper organ- 
pipes. 

But the real grandeur and dignity of the 
architecture stands out boldly in spite of the 
ornate turrets and the mass of sculptured de- 
tail, in a way which stamps the fabric impe- 
rially as a giant among its kind. 

Of the spire, Victor Hugo wrote thus 
(Strasburg was yet French, and not German 
as it is to-day) : '* The truly adorable achieve- 
ment of the builders of this cathedral is its 
spire. It is a tiara of stone crowned with a 
cross. It is prodigious, gigantic, but of great 
delicacy. I have seen Chartres ; I have seen 
Antwerp. Four escaliers a jour ascend spi- 
rally the four towerlets at the angles. The 
steps are very high and narrow. . . . To 
mount to the lantern one would have to follow 
the workmen, who appear to be continually 
engaged on the fabric. The stairways are no 
more, simply bars of iron set ladderlike in 
the masonry. 

'^ From the spire one sees three mountain 
ranges: the group of the Black Forest to the 
north; the Vosges to the west; and the Alps 
to the south. 

" One stands so high that the country-side 
104 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

appears no longer as the country-side; but, 
like the view from the castle at Heidelberg, 
a mere geographical map. 

'' At the time of my visit a great cloud rose 
up from the valley of the Rhine, and framed 
the panorama for a dozen leagues in truly 
eerie fashion. As I went from one tower to 
another, I saw about me la France, la Suisse, 
and TAUemagne:" 

It was in 1277 that the celebrated architect, 
Ervin von Steinbach, began the construction 
of the portal of the cathedral at Strasburg, 
and above its great doorway one may yet read, 
if he be keen of eyesight and knows where to 
look^or it, this inscription: 

ANNO. DOMINI. MCCLXXVII. IN. DIE. 

BEATI. 

URBANL HOC. GLORIOSUM. OPUS. 

INCOHAVIT 

MAGISTER. ERVINUS DE STEINBACH 

Ervin died in 13 18, and his son continued 
the work up to the first landing, or platform, 
of the towers. 

In the archives of the cathedral are still 
to be seen the designs on which father and 
son worked in achieving the portal and tow- 

105 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

ers, as well as those of the spire, the north 
porch, the pulpit, and the organ-buffet. Not 
all of these are contemporary, but the first, 
at least, are the very drawings which were 
handled by Maitre Ervin and his son in the 
latter years of the thirteenth century. 

The following lines of Longfellow describe 
the religious fervour of the great architect 
perhaps more truthfully than could prose. 

"... A great master of his craft, 
Ervin von Steinbach ; but not he alone, 
For many generations laboured with him, 
Children that came to see these saints in stone, 
As day by day out of the blocks they rose, 
Grew old and died, and still the work went on, 
And on and on and is not yet completed. 

"... The architect 
Built his great heart into these sculptured stones. 
And with him toiled his children, and their lives 
Were builded with his own into the walls 
As offerings to God." 

It is perhaps not possible to write of Stras- 
burg's cathedral without giving its great clock 
more than a passing thought. 

The legendary history of the clock at Stras- 
burg is as follows : 

io6 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The cathedral being terminated, the mag- 
istrates of the city desired to ornament its 
tower with a great clock which should be 
unique in all the world. 

No one came forth to undertake the com- 
mission, until a workman, much advanced in 
years, agreed for a certain sum to produce a 
clock which should be superior to all others 
then existing. 

After some years of incessant work, he pro- 
duced the first of Strasburg's wonderful me- 
chanical clocks full of moving figures and 
symbols. 

In lieu of recompense, the magistrates, de- 
siring that their city should be the sole pos- 
sessor of such a work, accused the old man of 
having had resource to the aid of the devil in 
producing so weird a timepiece, and con- 
demned him to torture and the loss of his 
eyesight. 

Upon a pretext of making some further 
arrangement of the works before the execu- 
tion of his sentence, the old man was allowed 
once more to mount the tower. Instead of 
adjusting the clock, he deranged it in some 
way so that its chimes never rang out as in- 
tended, and thus the magistrates and the citi- 
zens of Strasburg were, in a way, avenged for 

107 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the injustice done the inventor. This famous 
clock of Strasburg's tower is now only a mem- 
ory. 

The more recent works of a similar nature 
have a history less sordid and unpleasant. 
The first clock of the cathedral, placed inside 
the church at the crossing, dated from 1352, 
and of course was a remarkable work for its 
time. 

Two hundred years later it was intended to 
replace it with another, but the work was 
never achieved, so a third was begun with an 
effort to outdo the ingenuity which had made 
possible the fourteenth-century astronomical 
wonder. 

It was planned in 1571, under the direction 
of Conrad Dasypodius, of Strasburg, and his 
friend Daniel Volkenstein, an astronomer of 
Augsburg. It was completed in 1574, re- 
stored in 1669 and 1732, and ceased its labours 
through the stress of time in 1790. 

The present great clock, certainly an un- 
seemly and incongruous adjunct of a great 
church, was commenced on the 24th of June, 
1838, and installed on the 31st of December, 
1842. Its construction is supposed to have 
reflected great credit upon its designer, one 
Schwilgu, a clock-maker of Strasburg. Noth- 

108 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

ing was preserved of the more ancient time- 
piece, except its elaborate case, which was 
restored and further embellished. 

At the base of the tower, on the summit of 
which is placed the crowing cock, is a por- 
trait of the designer. " This great man," say 
the local patriots, died an octogenarian in 
1856. 

In 1723 a subterranean tremor sent the 
tower of Strasburg's cathedral a foot out of 
plumb. It speaks well for the solidity of the 
construction that no ill effects resulted, and 
to-day there are no evidences, to the casual 
observer, of this deflection. 

The^ beauty of Strasburg^s cathedral was 
in so great repute in the middle ages that Jean 
Galeaz Marie, Visconti Sforza, in 1481, de- 
manded of the magistrates of the city the name 
of an architect capable of completing his 
cathedral at Milan. 

In a vaulted chamber attached to the cathe- 
dral proper are two strangely curious memo- 
rials. They are nothing more or less than 
two mummies which, for their better pres- 
ervation, have been varnished, and the cos- 
tumes which they anciently wore have from 
time to time been renewed. 

One is the mummy of the Count of Nassau- 
109 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Saarbruck, who died in the sixteenth century, 
and the other is that of a young girl of per- 
haps twenty years, supposed to have been his 
daughter. 

The ancient church of St. Bartholomew is 
another of Strasburg's ecclesiastical shrines 
which ranks high among great churches. 

It dates from the second half of the thir- 
teenth century, but frequent additions have 
been made in more recent times. 

It possesses a remarkable monument which 
shows a painted '' Danse des Morts," with 
figures of nearly life size. It is a fresco on 
the inner walls of the overhanging canopy of 
a tomb. The painting dates from the fifteenth 
century, but was only discovered in 1824, on 
the occasion of a general renovation of the 
church. 

The choir was begun in 1308 and com- 
pleted in 1345. Its height and its general 
airiness, and the lightness of its vaulting and 
arches, unite in making it quite unusual and 
most worthy of note. 

This ancient church to-day is occupied by 
the Protestants, and the edifice has been di- 
vided up in a somewhat sacrilegious manner 
in order to provide within its walls for a 
library and a museum. 

no 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Strasburg has another great church in St. 
Thomas, a vast ogival edifice which has some 
good glass, but which is remarkable above all 
else for the number of its sepulchral monu- 
ments, both ancient and modern. 

At the end of the choir is found one of 
those w^onders of French sculpture, an alle- 
gorical grouping of figures on the tomb of 
Marechal de Saxe. 

It w^as erected in 1777 by Pigalle by the 
order of Louis XV. For a background it has 
a pyramid of gray marble, at the base of 
which i^ the following inscription : 

MAVRITIO SAXONI 

CVRLANDIAE ET SEMIGALLIAE DVCI 

SVMMO REGIORVM EXERCITVVM 

PRAEFECTO 

SEMPER VICTORI 

LVDOVICVS XV 

VICTORIARVM AVCTOR ET IPSE DVX 

PONI IVSSIT 

OBIIT XXX NOV. ANNO MDCCL. AETATIS 

LV. 

Standing in the centre of the pyramid is 
a figure of the marechal descending toward 
the sarcophagus below. A figure represent- 
ing Death is lifting the lid, and another, rep- 

I II 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

resenting France, is endeavouring to stay his 
hand. Flags, a reversed torch, and other 
symbols, with another figure representing the 
genius of war, complete the details of this 
elaborate monument. 

There is little of anything but Gothic, more 
or less pure, visible at Strasburg; but, in spite 
of this, it is alleged that, from Carlovingian 
times onward, there was here a colony of arti- 
sans who had been sent from Lombardy on 
account of the increased interest in the north 
in church-building. If this is so, they must 
have pushed onward down the Rhine, as they 
left but little impression here, and, while 
Rhenish church-building was manifestly not 
Gothic in its inception, here at Strasburg there 
are certainly no evidences of the Comacine 
builders of Charlemagne's time. 

Strasburg's ancient episcopal palace was 
built in 1731 -41 by Cardinal de Rohan. It 
was bought by the city before the Revolution 
and transformed into a chateau imperial, and 
became later the home of the local univer- 
sity. 

The edifice known in early days as the 
" Maison de I'Oeuvre Notre Dame," and more 
recently as " Stift zu unser lieben Frauen," 
was built in 1581, numerous Gothic sculptures 

1 12 



I» 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

from the cathedral being used in its construc- 
tion. There is here a remarkable spiral stair- 
case in the light and delicate flowered Gothic 
of its time. 




113 



X 

METZ 

From across the Moselle, on the height just 
to the south of the city of Metz, is to be had 
one of those widely spread panoramas which 
defy the artist or the photographer to repro- 
duce. 

There is an old French saying that the 
Rhine had power; the Rhone impetuosity; 
the Loire nobility; and the Moselle elegance 
and grace. This last is well shown in the 
charming river-bottom which spreads itself 
about the ancient Mediomatricorum, as Metz 
was known to the Romans. 

The enormously tall nave and transepts of 
the cathedral of Metz dominate every other 
structure in the city, in a fashion quite in keep- 
ing with the strategic importance of the place 
from a military point of view. 

Time was when ecclesiastical affairs and 
military matters were much more closely al- 
lied than now, and certainly if there was any 

114 



§^ ^ 











Metz 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

inspiration to be got from a highly impressive 
religious monument in their midst, the war- 
riors of another day, at Metz, must have felt 
that they were doubly blessed. 

Since the Franco-Prussian war, Metz, with 
Strasburg, has become transformed; but its 
ancient monuments still exist to charm and 
gratify the antiquarian. Indeed, it was as 
recently as 1900 that the Tour des Lennyers, 
a wonderful structure of Roman times, was 
discovered. 

Metz w^s fortified as early as in the third 
century, and to-day its walls and moats, 
though modern, — the work of Vauban, — 
are still wonders of their kind. 

In the Roman period the city was of great 
importance. In the fifth century it was at- 
tacked, taken, and destroyed by the Huns; 
but, when it was rebuilt and became the cap- 
ital of Austrasia, its prosperity grew rapidly. 
In 1552 the Due de Montmorenci made him- 
self master of the city, and some months later 
Henri II. made his entree. During the win- 
ter of the same year It successfully resisted 
Charles V., thanks to Frangois de Lorraine 
and the Due de Guise. 

The great abbey of St. Arnulphe disap- 
peared at this time. It stood on the site of 

117 



Cathedrals and Churches of tlie Rhine 

the present railroad station, where, in 1902, 
were found many fragments of religious 
sculptures, coming presumably from the old 
abbey. 

In 1556-62 the citadel was constructed by 
Marechal Vielleville. Within the citadel was 
the old church of St. Pierre, one of those 
minor works of great beauty which are often 
overlooked w^hen summing up the treasures 
of a cathedral town. The old church dated 
originally from the seventh century, though 
reconstructed anew in the tenth, and again 
in the fifteenth century. 

The walls of the surrounding fortifications 
are of incontestable antiquity. Beneath the 
pavement of the chapel have recently been 
found fragments of sculptured stone dating 
from Merovingian times. 

It was during a dangerous illness at Metz 
that Louis XV. is said to have made the vow 
which led to the erection of that pagan-look- 
ing structure, the church of Sainte Genevieve, 
more commonly known as the Pantheon, at 
Paris. It is the largest modern church in 
France, if, indeed, one can really consider it 
to-day as a church. 

Metz, before its annexation by Germany, 
was as French as Reims or Troyes. Many 

118 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

of the natives of the city have since left, but 
they have been replaced by Germans, so the 
population has not suffered in numbers. 

Of a population of forty-five thousand, 
there are twenty-four thousand soldiers. Ho- 
tels, shops, and cafes have become German- 
ized, but, curiously enough, many, if not 
nearly all, of the cab-drivers speak French, 
and French money passes current every- 
where. 

Certain restaurants preserve what they call 
the traditions de la cuisine frangaise, and in 
the municipal theatre a company of French 
players come from Nancy three times a week 
in the winter season. 

Metz, one of the three ancient bishoprics 
of imperial Lorraine, now forms a part of 
Elsass-Lothringen, where the German Em- 
peror reigns as emperor and not merely as 
King of Prussia. 

The churches of Metz show very little of 
Romanesque influences, though it is indeed 
strong in churches dating from the thirteenth 
century onward. Early Gothic in nearly 
every shade of excellence is to be found in 
the churches of Metz, from the cathedral 
church of St. Stephen downwards, and, be- 
cause of this, it is the Continental city where 

119 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the development of the style can be most thor- 
oughly studied and appreciated. 

In many cases there are only fragments, 
at least, that which is to be admired is more 
or less fragmentary; but, in spite of that, they 
are none the less precious and valuable as a 
record. 

Besides its churches, Metz has, in its ancient 
donjon or castle-keep, a singularly impressive 
monument of its past greatness, which stands 
in the Geishergstrasse, or the Kue de Chevre- 
mont, as the street is called by the French, 
for Metz, like Strasburg and the other cities 
and towns of poor rent Alsace and Lorraine, 
is even yet a muddle of French and German 
proper names. 

This great pile was doubtless the forrner 
royal shelter of Theodoric and others of his 
line. 

To-day Metz is mostly a city of strategic 
fortifications; but this is but one aspect, and 
the seat of the renowned bishopric of Lor- 
raine has in its cathedral church an ecclesi- 
astical monument of almost supreme rank. 

St. Stephen's Cathedral is a vast structure 
of quaint and almost grotesque outline, when 
seen from across the Moselle. Its chief dis- 
tinction, at first glance, is its height, which 

1 20 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

seems to dwarf all its other proportions; but 
in reality it is attenuated in none of its dimen- 
sions, and its clerestory is hugely impressive, 
where one so often finds this feature a mere 
range of shallow windows. 

Among the great churches of Northern 
Europe, the cathedral of St. Stephen stands 
third, it being surpassed only by the cathedrals 
of Beauvais and Cologne. 

This fact is frequently overlooked, and or- 
dinarily Metz would be classed with that sec- 
ondary group which includes Reims, Bourges, 
and Narborine; but so accurate an authority 
as Professor Freeman vouches for the state- 
ment. 

The clerestory, of a prodigious height, is 
borne aloft by a series of rather squat-looking 
pillars, but again figures demonstrate that 
the cathedral at Metz is truly one of the 
wonders of its kind. 

There is a north tower which is, or was, 
a part of the civic establishment as well, in 
that it contained an alarm-bell, similar to those 
employed in the Netherlands, known as La 
Mutte. Twin towerlets straddle the nave of 
the cathedral in a quite unexplainable man- 
ner. 

Altogether the building has a most remark- 

121 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

able and not wholly beautiful sky-line, to 
which one must become accustomed before 
it is wholly loved. 

Decidedly the least likable portion of the 
exterior of St. Stephen's is the w^est front, 
which is decidedly incongruous, whereas in 
most places it is the west front that shines and 
is truly brilliant. Certainly, in this respect 
Metz does not follow that French tradition 
which, in its Gothic churches, it otherwise 
obeys. 

St. Stephen's really rises to almost a su- 
preme height. It has been said to exceed that 
of Amiens and Beauvais, but this is manifestly 
not so, for, if the figures are correct, it is some 
seven feet lower than Amiens and twenty 
lower than Beauvais. Still, it rises to a dar- 
ing height, and its " walls of glass," with their 
enormously tall clerestory windows, only ac- 
centuate its airiness and grace. 

This last quality is remarkable in Gothic 
architecture of so early a period, the thir- 
teenth century. At St. Guen at Rouen, to 
which its openness may be compared, and 
perhaps to Gloucester in England, the work 
is of a much later date. 

The interior of St. Stephen's presents an 
equally marked effect of height and bril- 

122 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

liancy, with perhaps an exaggeration of the 
ample clerestory at the expense of the tri- 
forium. 

There is a remarkable symmetry in the nave 
and its aisles; and its strong columns, with 
their shafting rising to the roof groins, show 
a method of construction so daring that mod- 
ern builders certainly would not care to copy 
it. 

The glass of the great clerestory windows 
in the choir dates only from the sixteenth cen- 
tury, and w:as designed by one Bousch of 
Strasburg. 

The windows of the north and south tran- 
septs are exceedingly brilliant specimens of 
the mediaeval glass-workers' art. There are 
some fragmentary remains, in the clerestory 
of the nave, of glass of a much earlier period 
than that in the choir, possibly contemporary 
with the fabric itself (thirteenth century). 
If this is so, it is of the utmost value, worthy 
to be admired with the gold and jewelled 
treasures of the cathedral's sacristy. 

In the sacristy there used to be the ring of 
Arnulphe and the mantle of Charles the 
Great, but doubts have been cast upon the 
latter, and the former has disappeared. 

There is, somewhere about the precincts of 
123 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the cathedral, a weird effigy of a monster 
known as the Grauly, which, like the Ta- 
rasque at Tarascon aad the dragon of St. Ber- 
trand de Comminges, is a made-up, theatrical 
property which even in its symbolism is ludi- 
crous in its false sentiment. 

Besides Metz's cathedral, there is the 
church of St. Vincent on an island in the 
river, which lacks orientation and faces al- 
most due south. It is as distinctly a German 
type of church as the cathedral is French ; 
but this is more as regards its outline than 
anything else, for its Gothic is very, very good. 
Its interior is dignified, but graceful, though 
it lacks a triforium. 

St. Martin's is a smaller church, but is con- 
temporary with St. Stephen's and St. Vin- 
cent's (thirteenth century). 

St. Maximin's is a still smaller edifice, and 
would be called Romanesque if German did 
not suit it better. It resembles somewhat the 
parish churches seen in the country-side in 
England, and is in no way remarkable or 
highly interesting, if we except the tall cen- 
tral tower. 

St. Eucharius's and St. Sagelone's complete 
the list of the unattached churches of Metz; 



124 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

St. Clement's being but an attribute of the 
Jesuit college. 

St. Eucharius's stands near what we would 
call the German Gate, — locally known_as 
Deutsches Thor, or the Porte des Allemands, 
— a mediaeval gateway built into, or built 
around, rather, by the modern fortifications 
with which the city is protected. 

The church is most lofty for its size. Its 
pier arches are of great proportions, and its 
clerestory, like St. Stephen's itself, is of more 
than ordinarily ample dimensions. There is 
no triforium. 

St. Sagelone's remains practically a pure 
Gothic example of its time, rather later than 
the rest of its kind in Metz. It has some fine 
coloured glass, in spite of the fact that its 
antiquity cannot be very great. 

St. Clement's is a dependency of the Jesuit 
installation, which reflects more credit upon 
that order than has usually been accorded 
them in the arts of church-building. 

It is a more or less incongruous combina- 
tion of the Italian and Gothic styles, but 
blended with such a consummate skill that 
the effect can but be admired. 

In form St. Clement's is frankly a Hallen- 
kirche, with the three naves of equal height. 

125 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

In general the nave is late Gothic, with the 
marked tracery of its time in its fenestration. 

The capitals of the piers, supporting the 
arches between the nave and its aisles, are 
stately but heavy, according to Gothic stand- 
ards, and appear misplaced, luxurious though 
they undeniably are. St. Clement's is sup- 
posed to resemble the variety of Gothic which 
has been employed in Sicily, where Gothic 
of the best was known, but was used in con- 
junction with other details, which really 
added nothing to its value or beauty as a dis- 
tinct style. 

One leaves Metz with the memory full of 
visions of many churches and much soldiery 
of the conventional German type. 

There is plenty, in all of these towns, to 
remind one of both France and Germany. In 
the geography of other times, Metz was 
Lotharingian; but French was very early the 
language of the city, and its prelates and 
churchmen, when they diH not use Latin, 
spoke only the French tongue, and fell under 
French influences. Therefore it was but nat- 
ural that the type of Metz's principal church 
should have favoured the French style, even 
though it developed German tendencies. 



26 



XI 

SPEYER 

When Christianity penetrated into the 
vast and populous provinces of Germany, the 
Prankish kings favoured its progress and 
founded upon the banks of the Rhine many 
religious establishments. 

Dagobert I., King of Austrasia, built the 
first church at Speyer, upon the ruins of a 
temple which the Romans had consecrated to 
Diana. When, at the beginning of the elev- 
enth century, this early structure fell in ruins, 
thanks to the bounty of Conrad II., another 
of far greater and more beautiful proportions 
was erected. 

The idea of a new edifice was proposed to 
Walthour, then bishop, who, like many of 
his fellow prelates of the time, was himself 
an architect of no mean attainments. The 
difficult art of church-building had no secrets 
from the bishop, and he set about the work 
forthwith, and with ardour. He worked 

127 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

three years upon the plans, and on the 12th 
of July, 1030, in the presence of the vassals 
and seigneurs of the court, the emperor laid 
the foundation-stone of the present cathedral, 
and declared that the church should serve 
as the sepulchre of the princes of his race. 
Twelve tombs were prepared beneath the 
choir, which itself is known as " the Choir of 
the Kings," in the same way as the cathedral 
itself has come to be known as the " Cathedral 
of the Emperors." 

Eight emperors and three empresses have 
been placed within these tombs: Conrad II., 
Henry III., Henry IV., Henry V., Philip of 
Suabia, Rudolph of Hapsburg, Albert of 
Austria, Adolph of Nassau, the wife of Con- 
rad II., Bertha, the unfortunate companion 
of Henry IV., and Beatrice, the wife of the 
great Barbarossa. 

Above the tombs of the emperors one may 
read the following Latin inscription: 

" F'tlius hie — Pater Hie — Avus Hie — Proavus 
jaeet is tie — Hie proavi eonjux — Hie Henriei Seniorisy 

The cathedral of Speyer was far from being 
completed at this time, but the new bishop, 
Siegfried, was a no less able architect than 

128 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

his predecessor, and he directed the work 
with zeal and talent. 

Already the principal body of the church 




was rearing itself skyward, and in 1060 the 
edifice was practically complete, after thirty 
years of persevering effort. 

It is a bizarre sort of a church as seen to- 
129 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

day, and must always have had much the same 
character ; still it is of a style which gave birth 
to a new and distinct movement in cathedral 
building, and the authorities have declared 
that the three edifices founded by the Emperor 
Conrad, the cathedral of Speyer, the collegiate 
church of St. Guidon, and the monastery of 
Limburg, were the foundations of a new school 
of ecclesiastical architecture, and the envy of 
all the other provinces of the Empire. 

The cathedral was consecrated under 
Bishop Eginhard, and immediately all 
church-building Europe went into raptures 
over it, its proportions and dimensions, its 
fine plan, its six spires, and the magnificently 
spacious arrangement of its transept and ap- 
side. 

In 1 159 the fabric suffered much from fire, 
but before a decade had passed it was re- 
stored in such a manner that the church again 
stood complete. 

Another fire followed in 1189, and in 1450 
yet another of still greater extent, and only 
the holy vessels, the reliquaries, and the altar 
ornaments were saved from the flames. 

Bishop Reinhold, of Helmstadt, and the 
chapter, set about forthwith to rebuild the 
cathedral, and, while its ashes were still smoul- 

130 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

dering, they took a vow to make it more beau- 
tiful than before. 

The bishop wrote a letter to Pope Boniface 
VIIL, on the occasion of his jubilee in the 
same year, and obtained a pontifical decree 
that all who gave financial help toward the 
erection of the new cathedral should be blessed 
with the same indulgence as those who visited 
the tombs of the apostles at Rome. 

The bishop lost no time, and his agents went 
forth into all Germany to get funds to reerect 
the sepulchral church of the emperors. They 
were received favourably, and twenty-one 
thousand golden florins furnished Bishop 
Reinhold the means of carrying out his proj- 
ect 

After the wars of the sixteenth century, 
when Speyer was sacked, pillaged, and 
burned, the sturdy walls of the cathedral again 
fell, and only in the eighteenth century was 
it restored. For a long time, only the choir 
was rebuilt, the nave being neglected up to 
1772, when Bishop August of Limburg under- 
took to restore the entire edifice, which, con- 
sidering that he did it in the eighteenth cen- 
tury, he did comparatively well. 

The choir and nave reflect, considerably, 
the spirit of the middle ages. The fagade 



Cathedrals and Churches of tJie Rhine 

alone indicates the false taste of the period in 
which it was restored. 

In general the exterior decoration is simple 
and remarkable for its interest. 

The interior was wisely restored in 1823, 
and shows a series of mural decorations of 
more than usual excellence, and the statue of 
Rudolph of Hapsburg, a modern work by a 
pupil of Thorwaldsen's, is less offensive than 
might be supposed. 

In Speyer's cathedral are an elaborate series 
of frescoes by Schraudolph, forming a part 
of the extensive renovation undertaken by 
Maximilian 11. of Bavaria. 

The cloister, built in 1437, exists no more. 
The baptistery is a curious octagonal edifice 
ornamented witli eight columns and sur- 
mounted by a dome. It is lighted by eight 
narrow windows. The origin of the baptis- 
tery is in dispute; but, while doubts are likely 
enough to be cast upon the assertion, it is re- 
peated here, on the strength of the opinion of 
many authorities, that it may have descended 
from the time of Dagobert. 

There are numerous grotesque carvings, 
which ornament the cathedral in its various 
parts, and which have ever been the despair 
of antiquarians as to their meaning. 

132 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

In one place on the exterior of the apside 
is a queerly represented melee between gnom- 
ish figures of men and beasts with human 
heads. And again, in the nave, there is a 
figure of a dwarf with a long beard, with a 
sort of helmet on his head, and a sword at 
his side. If he is supposed in any way to rep- 
resent the Church militant, the symbolism is 
badly expressed. 

St. Bernard preached the Crusades here in 
the presence of Conrad III., of Hohenstaufen, 
who was so inspired by the enthusiasm of the 
holy man that he took the cross himself. 

It was in the cathedral of Speyer, too, that 
St. Bernard added to the canticle of '' Salva 
Regina " these words, '' O Clemens/ O Pia! 
O Dulcis Virgo Maria'' which have since 
been sung in all the Roman churches of the 
universe. 

An ancient legend recounts how one day 
St. Bernard had come late to the church, when 
the statue of the Virgin cried out to him : " O 
Bernharde, cur turn tarde? " and that the saint, 
with very little respect on this occasion, re- 
plied : ^' Mulier taceat in ecclesia." '' Since 
that time," says the legend, '^ the Madonna 
has never spoken." 



133 



XII 

CARLSRUHE, DARMSTADT, AND WIESBADEN 
Carlsruhe 

Carlsruhe is modern, very modern, and is 
a favourite resting-place with those who 
would study the language and customs of 
Germany. In fact, there is not much else 
to attract one, except a certain conventional 
society air, which seems to pervade all of its 
two score thousand inhabitants. 

The architectural treasures of the city 
mostly bear eighteenth-century dates, from the 
great monumental gateway, by which one 
enters the city, and on which one reads, 
'' Regnante Carolo Frederico, M, B., S. R. I. 
P. £./' to the Academy of Fine Arts, really 
the most beautiful structure of the city, which 
dates only from 1845, though reproducing the 
Byzantine style of the early ages. 

The great palace designed by Weinbrunner 
branches out like the leaves of a fan, and, if 
not the equal of Versailles or Fontaine- 

134 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

bleau, suggests them not a little in general 
effect. 

The two chief churches of Carlsruhe are 
in no way great ecclesiastical edifices, or of 
any intrinsic artistic worth whatever. Both 
the principal Protestant place of worship and 
the Catholic edifice are from the designs of 
Weinbrunner, and are a confused mixture of 
pretty much all the well recognized details of 
style, with no convincing features of any. 
They are pretentious, gaudy, and quite out 
of keeping with religious feeling. 

The Catholic edifice is a poor, ungainly 
imitation of the Pantheon at Rome, which 
reflects no dignity upon its author or the re- 
ligion which it houses. 

The Protestant church has its fagade orna- 
mented with six Corinthian columns — a 
weakly pseudo-classic style — which lead up 
to a tower which would be suitable enough 
to a country-side German parish church, but 
which, in a prosperous and gay little metrop- 
olis of pleasure, like Carlsruhe, is unappro- 
priate and unfeeling, particularly when one 
recalls that it is a modern building which one 
contemplates. The window openings, too, re- 
call rather those of a dwelling-house than of 
a religious edifice. So, when all is said and 

135 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

done, there *is not much in favour of Carls- 
ruhe's churches. 

One link binds Carlsruhe with the traditions 
of ecclesiastical art in Germany, and that is a 
most acceptable statue of Ervin von Stein- 
bach, the master-builder of Strasburg's 
cathedral. It flanks the principal portal of 
the Polytechnic School. 

Darmstadt 

Though more ancient than Carlsruhe, 
Darmstadt has a prosperous modern appear- 
ance, and consequently lacks those lovable 
qualities of a tumble-down mediaeval town 
which usually surround architectural treasures 
of the first rank. 

The Stadthaus, or Hotel de Ville, dates 
from the fifteenth century, and the Palace 
from 1605 (in its reconstructed form) ; but 
there is nothing of sufficient interest about the 
churches to warrant the devotee of ecclesi- 
astical architecture ever setting foot within 
their doors. 

As delightful little cities, with tree-bordered 
promenades and a general air of prosperity 
and modernity, Carlsruhe and Darmstadt are 
well enough; but, as the setting for religious 
shrines, they are of no importance. 

136 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Behind the Stadthaus, in the old town, will 
be found the Protestant place of worship. It 
is in unconvincing Gothic, with nothing re- 
markable about its constructive elements, and 
little or nothing with respect to its details. 
One feature might perhaps arrest the atten- 
tion. This is a retable of the conventional 
orthodox form which occupies the usual place 
— even in this Protestant church — at the end 
of the choir. 

The Catholic church is situated on a great 
rectangular open place, known as the Wil- 
helminen Platz. It is a recent construction, 
and accordingly atrocious. 

In form it is an enormous rotunda, one hun- 
dred and thirty-four feet in circumference, 
lighted by a shaft in the centre of its immense 
cupola. The porch by which one enters this 
rather pagan-looking structure is simple, and 
by far the most gracious feature of the edifice. 
On the frieze one reads, in great golden let- 
ters, the single word ^' Deo." In the lunette 
which surmounts this porch is a sculptured 
figure of the Virgin between two adoring 
angels, and on a marble tablet is engraved: 

LUDOVICO 

hassitE et ad RHENUM MAGNO DUCI 

PATRI PATRIAE 

137 



Cathedrals and C ha re he s of the Rliine 

The interior, more even than that of the 
church at Carlsruhe, is a weak imitation of 
the Pantheon at Rome. 

The great dome is upheld by twenty-eight 
enormous Corinthian columns, but the walls 
are bare and without ornament of any sort. 

The only accessory with any pretence at 
artistic expression is the altar. It is either 
remarkably fine, or else it looks so in compari- 
son with its bare surroundings. 

Wiesbaden 

A conventional account of Wiesbaden 
would read something as follows : 

" Wiesbaden, the capital of the Duchy of 
Nassau, is about an hours drive by road from 
Mayence and three from Frankfort. It lies 
in a valley, encircled by low hills, behind 
which, on the north and northwest, rises the 
range of the Taunus Mountains, whose dark 
foliage forms an agreeable contrast to the 
brighter green of the meadows and the white 
buildings of the town. Within the last few 
years several new streets have been erected; 
the Wilhelmstrasse, fronting the promenades, 
w^ould bear a comparison with some of the 
finest streets in Europe." 

1^.8 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Such, in fact, is the description which usu- 
ally opens the accounts one reads in the books 
of travel of a half or three-quarters of a cen- 
tury ago. 

To-day Wiesbaden, as a '' watering-place," 
doubtless retains all the virtues that it formerly 
possessed; but fashionable invalids have de- 
serted Wiesbaden for Homburg. 

All this is of course quite apart from the 
consideration of great churches; but great 
churches, for that matter, were quite apart 
from the considerations of most of the visitors 
to Wiesbaden. 

The city possesses, however, a very satis- 
factory modern Catholic church, the work of 
the architect Hoffmann. It will not take rank 
with the mediaeval masterpieces of many other 
places, but it demonstrates, as has only seldom 
been demonstrated, that it is possible to make 
a very satisfactory church building of to-day 
by copying pleasing details of other times. 

Were it not that it is built in the red sand- 
stone of the country, this fine edifice would be 
even more effective. 

It is not a thoroughly consistent style that 
one sees. There is Byzantine, Romanesque, 
and avowedly Gothic details superimposed 
one upon another; but this is often seen in 

139 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the masterpieces of other times, and, so long 
as the varieties are not put into quarrelling 
relationship with each other, it is perhaps 
allowable. 

There is a triangular pediment above the 
grand portal which is certainly most singular, 
and may have been a product ol the author's 
fancy alone. Nothing exactly similar is re- 
membered elsewhere. In the main, however, 
the whole structure is reminiscent of much 
that, draw^n from various sources, is the best 
of its kind. 

The interior is divided into three naves by 
numerous great and small pillars of a polyg- 
onal form, the capitals only bearing any trace? 
of modelling. 

The high altar is decorated with some good 
sculptures, and there are a series of paintings, 
which might be modern, or might be ancient, 
so far as their unconvincing merits go. 

Of the attraction of the w^aters and the 
pleasures of the society found at Wiesbaden 
during the season, nothing shall have place 
here, save to remark that the springs were 
famous even in the times of the Romans. 

There is a '' Greek chapel," built in 1855, 
at two kilometres from Wiesbaden. In the 
style of the sacred edifices of Moscow, this 

140 




G 



REEK CHAPEL, 
WIESBADEN 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

chapel was erected by the Emperor of Russia 
and by the Grand Duke Adolphe of Nassau 
to serve as the mausoleum of the Duchess Eliz- 
abeth of Nassau, a Russian princess. 

This fine memorial was also the work of the 
architect Hoffmann, and, though bizarre and 
unbeautiful enough from certain points of 
view, it is a highly successful transplanting of 
an exotic. 




141 



XIII 

HEIDELBERG AND MAXXHEIM 
Heidelberg 

As the ancient capital of the Lower Palat- 
inate, Heidelberg early came into great prom- 
inence, though many of the details of its early 
history are lost in obscurity. The Romans 
have left traces of their passage, but the his- 
tory of the early years of Christianity is but 
vaguely surmised. 

Conrad of Hohenstaufen, brother of the 
red-bearded Frederick, came here, in 1148, as 
the first Count Palatine of the Rhine. The 
ruins of what is supposed to have been his once 
famous chateau are yet to be seen on the Geiss- 
berg. 

In 1228 Heidelberg was declared the cap- 
ital of the Palatinate under Otto of Wittels- 
bach, and became the residence of the Elec- 
tors, who, for five hundred years, inhabited 
that other and more popularly famous cha- 
teau, which is known to all travellers on the 
Rhine as the '' Castle of Heidelberg." In 

142 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

1724, they chose Mannheim as their official 
residence. 

Few cities of Europe have so frequently 
undergone such horrors of civilized warfare, 
if warfare ever is civilized, as has Heidelberg, 
though mostly it is associated in the popular 
mind of personally conducted tourists as a city 
of wine and beer drinking and general revelry 
and mirth. 

The city has been five times bombarded, 
twice reduced to ashes, and three times taken 
by assault and pillaged. 

To-day, it has recovered from all these dis- 
asters and takes its place as one of the most 
brilliant of the smaller commercial centres of 
the Rhine valley, though for that matter Hei- 
delberg is situated some little distance from 
the river itself. 

Of Heidelberg's population of perhaps 
twenty-five thousand souls, nearly one-third 
are Catholics, an exceedingly large propor- 
tion for a German town. 

St. Peter's, the most ancient of Heidelberg's 
churches, contains many tombs of the Electors. 
In 1693 Melac and his soldiers, after having 
thrown to the winds, at Speyer, the ashes of 
the emperors, rummaged about here in the 
church of St. Peter, and tore the bones of the 

143 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

nobles from their leaden caskets, throwing 
them broadcast in the streets. A Frenchman 
who remarked upon this sacrilege forgot that 
his own countrymen did the same at St. Denis's 
a hundred years later. 

The principal church edifice of the city is 
St. Esprit's. Its architecture belongs to the 
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, though it 
cannot be described as belonging to any precise 
style. Its interior is divided into two parts, 
which, curiously enough, were devoted to two 
distinct sects, the choir being consecrated to 
the Catholics and the nave being occupied by 
the Protestants. Jerome of Prague, a disciple 
of John Huss, harangued his believers in this 
church in times contemporary with that of 
Huss himself. 

In the midst of the market-place is a statue 
of the Virgin, and facing the north side of the 
church is a house dating from 1492, known 
to-day by the sign of the Chevalier zum Rit- 
ter. Among the numerous ornaments of this 
fine mediaeval dwelling-house is to be noted 
the following inscription : 

*' Si Jehova noti edificet domum, frustra 
laborant cedificantes earn V. S. CXXVII. — 
Soli Deo gloria et perstat invicta Venus.'' 

The University of Heidelberg, as presum- 
144 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

ably all readers of guide-books know, is the 
most ancient and the most celebrated in Ger- 
many. It was founded by Robert I. in 1386. 
Luther gave his dissertation here in 15 15, 
hence, so far as its connection with religious 
matters goes, it is of great importance. 

Its library was one of the most precious in 
Europe, but Tilly, who headed the Bavarians 
who entered Heidelberg in 1622, presented the 
greater part of it to Pope Leo XL The val- 
uable books and manuscripts remained in the 
Vatican, where they formed the Palatine Li- 
brary, until the taking of Rome by the 
French in 1795. The rarest of the works 
were sent to Paris, whence they were returned 
to Heidelberg in 18 15. 

The theatrical-looking chateau of Heidel- 
berg, which dominates the city and all the 
river valley round about, was built, in its most 
ancient parts, by the Elector Robert L, in the 
fourteenth century, though, for the most part, 
the walls that one gazes upon to-day are much 
more modern, having been erected by Fred- 
erick IV. in the sixteenth century. 

In 1622 the castle was ravaged by the Span- 
iards, and, under the reign of Louis XIV. of 
France, it was bombarded by Turenne and by 
Melac. Rebuilt with still greater magnifi- 
es 



Cathedrals and Chttrches of the Rhine 

cence, it was all but destroyed by lightning in 
1764, since which time it has been practically 
abandoned and has become one of the most 
romantically picturesque ruins in Europe. 

That portion of the edifice built by Otto 
Henry, who reigned 1556-59, is quite the 
most beautiful of all the various parts. It is 
known as the Hall of the Knights, and its plan 
and ornamentation is supposedly that of Mi- 
chael Angelo. 

The famous Heidelberg Tun is in one of 
the great vaulted chambers of the castle. The 
first of these utilitarian curiosities — Rhine 
wine matures best in large bodies — was built 
in 1535, and held 158,800 bottles. This tun 
was destroyed in the Thirty Years' War, and 
was replaced by a second which held 245,176 
bottles, built by one Meyer, the cooper of the 
court. This tun was repaired in 1728 and 
exists to-day, but its grandeur is eclipsed by 
another made in 175 1, during the electorate 
of Charles Theodore, which has a capacity of 
284,000 bottles. 

Mannheim 

The modern-looking city of Mannheim has 
little ecclesiastical treasure to interest the stu- 
dent, although it is a wealthy and important 
centre. 

146 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Its origin is very remote, and legend has 
it that it was the birthplace of a fabulous king 
of the Teutons called Mannus. Others have 
evolved its present nomenclature from a word 
taken from Norse mythology meaning the 
" dwelling-place of men." Either seems prob- 
able enough, and the reader must take his 
choice. 

According to most authorities, the city first 
came into being in 765, but remained an insig- 
nificant hamlet up to the time of the Elector 
Frederick IV., who, in 1606, surrounded it 
with a city wall as a protection to the perse- 
cuted Protestants of the place. He also built 
the great chateau, the precursor of the present 
vast edifice, which contains, the guide-books 
say, fifteen hundred windows and five hundred 
rooms; as if that were its chief claim on one's 
attention. 

The present structure was the former resi- 
dence of the Electors of the Palatinate, and, 
though but a couple of hundred years old, is 
nevertheless an imposing and interesting edi- 
fice in more ways than one. To-day it is given 
over to collections of various sorts, Roman 
antiquities, old prints, and a gallery of paint- 
ings which contains some good work of Ten- 
iers and Wouvermans. 

147 



Cathedrals and Chiirclies of tlie RJiine 

The Market and the Rathaus are the chief 
architectural attractions of this beautifully 
laid-out cit}', and its poor, mean little church 
of the Catholic religion is by no means an 
edifying expression of architectural art. 

It is practically nothing more than what 
the French would call a pavilion, and is known 
as the Unterpfaar, the lower parish. 

On the exterior wall one sees the pagan idea 
of caryatides carried out with Christian sym- 
bols, t^vo figures of angels. There is also a 
mediocre statue representing " Faith/' which 
it is difficult to accept as good art. 

In the interior the short, narrow nave is 
separated from its aisles by four columns and 
two pillars on each side. The effect is some- 
what that of a swimming bath. It is decidedly 
unchurchly. 

There are a series of uninteresting tombs, 
and there is a high altar, gaudily rich with 
trappings, which would be a disgrace to a 
stage-carpenter. 

There is little or no religious histor\' con- 
nected with the city; but such devotional 
spirit as existed, and does exist to-day, ought 
to have left a better Christian memorial than 
that of the Unterpfaar. 



148 



XIV 

WORMS 

This most ancient city was the Vormatia 
of the Romans. It was devastated by Attila, 
and reestablished by Clovis. At the beginning 
of the seventh century Brunhilda founded the 
bishopric, and Dagobert established his royal 
residence here in the years following. After- 
ward Charlemagne himself made it a resting- 
place many times, and held many Parliaments 
here. 

In the tenth century Worms became a free 
city of the Empire, and in 1122 a Concordat 
was entered into between Pope Calixtus II. 
and the emperor, Henry V., concerning the 
ecclesiastical aflfairs of the city. 

It was in the cathedral of Worms that the 
famous Diet of 1521 was held, when Charles 
V. declared Luther a heretic, and banished 
him from the Empire, for which indignity 
Luther is said to have remarked: '' There are 
at Worms as many devils as there are tiles on 
the roof of its cathedral." 

149 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The city suffered much in the Thirty Years' 
War, and in 1689 was reduced to ashes by the 
armies of Louis XIV. 

The cathedral of Worms was begun in 996 
by Bishop Bouchard, and completed twenty 
years later by the Emperor Henry II. With 
its four fine towers and its two noble domes 
or cupolas, it ranks as one of the really great 
monuments of Christianity in Germany. 

To-day, with its later additions, it is purely 
Romanesque, though built entirely after 1185, 
when Gothic was already making great strides 
elsewhere. Even here there is a decided ogi- 
val development to be noted in the vaulting 
of the nave. 

Like the cathedrals at Mayence and Bonn, 
that at Worms offers the peculiarity of a 
double apside. The eastern termination is 
demi-round in the interior and square outside, 
while the westerly apse is polygonal both in- 
side and out. 

The cathedral was the only structure of note 
left standing in the city after the memorable 
siege of 1689. 

The outline of this cathedral is most in- 
volved, with its high, narrow transepts, its two 
choirs crowned with cupolas and flanked with 
four lance-like towers. It is a suggestion, in 

150 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

a small way, of the more grandiose cathedral 
at Mayence, but it is by no means so pictur- 
esquely situated. 

The portal of the fagade shows some fine 
sculptures of the fourteenth century. One 
figure has given rise to much comment on the 
part of antiquaries and archeologists who have 
viewed it. It is a female figure mounted on 
a strange quadruped of most singular form, 
and like no manner of beast that ever w^alked 
the earth in the flesh. 

It has been thought to be a symbolical allu- 
sion to the Queen Brunhilda, and again of the 
Church triumphant. It may be the former, 
but hardly the latter, at least such symbolism 
is not to be seen elsewhere. 

The interior is of no special architectural 
value, if we except the contrast of the ogival 
vaulting with the Romanesque treatment 
otherwise to be observed. 

There are numerous tombs and monuments, 
the chief being of three princesses of Bur- 
gundy who are buried here. 

The church of St. Martin dates from the 
twelfth century, and Notre Dame from the 
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. They are 
in every w^ay quite as interesting as the cathe- 
dral, though their walls and vaults have been 

151 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

built up anew since the sacking of the city 
by the French in the seventeenth century. 

The synagogue, recently restored, dates, as 
to its foundation, from the eleventh century, 
and is one of the most ancient in all Germany. 

According to tradition, a Jewish colony was 
established at Worms 550 years B. c. This 
may or may not be well authenticated, — the 
writer does not know, — but no city in Ger- 
many in the middle ages had a colony of Jews 
more numerous, more venerated, or more an- 
cient. 

The Jews of Germany had three grand 
Rabbis, one at Prague, one at Frankfort, and 
the other at Worms. By the privilege of the 
Emperor Ferdinand, the Rabbi of Worms had 
precedence over the two others. They be- 
lieved, according to a traditionary legend, that 
Worms was a part of the promised land, and 
it was said that the Jews' cemetery at Worms 
was made of soil brought from Jerusalem. 

The wine-growers of Worms have given 
the name Liebfraumilch to the wine of the 
neighbourhood, particularly that which is 
gathered on the hillside gardens of the 
Church of Our Lady, and within the grounds 
of the ancient convent. 

Near Worms is the ancient abbey of Lorsch, 
152 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

known in the middle ages as Lauresham and 
Lorse. The abbey was founded and dedicated 
(767 - 74) in the presence of Charlemagne, his 
wife Hildegarde, and his two sons, Charles 
and Pepin. 

The churches of Treves, of Metz, and of 
Cologne have, as we know, existed from very 
early times, and Maternus, an early Bishop 
of Cologne, is said to have been summoned to 
Rome in 313 to give his aid in deciding the 
Donatist controversy. 

The oldest of all these Rhenish church 
foundations is thought to be that of Lorsch, 
whose bishop, Maximilian, died a martyr's 
death in the year 285. 

The abbey became very wealthy, as was but 
natural under the patronage of such celebrated 
benefactors; but it fell a prey to the flames 
in 1090, and, in spite of immediate restoration, 
Lorsch never recovered its ancient splen- 
dour. 

In 1232 it was incorporated with the arch- 
bishopric of Mayence, and the former impe- 
rial abbey became first, a priory of the monks 
of the order of Citeaux, and later of the Pre- 
monstentrationists. 

The fine old twelfth-century church, rebuilt 
from that of 1 100, has to-day become a grange, 

153 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

though only the ancient choir can be really 
said to exist. 

The valuable library of Lorsch was fortu- 
nately saved at the Thirty Years' War, and, 
when the church was devastated by the Span- 
iards, was transported to Heidelberg. 

The monastery at Lorsch is important as 
marking the transition between the Roman- 
esque and Gothic in a manner not usually asso- 
ciated with the Rhine. One observes it nota- 
bly in the porch, where the lower range of 
round-headed arcades is surmounted by a col- 
onnade of sloping angular arches, which are 
certainly not Romanesque or classical, though, 
truth to tell, they resemble the clearly defined 
Gothic of France but little. 

To-day the church of Lorsch presents no 
remarkable architectural features, and is sim- 
ply an attractive and picturesquely environed 
building containing a few monuments worthy 
of note. 

In olden times the town was protected by 
a strong chateau, constructed in 1348 by the 
Archbishop of Mayence, but no traces of it 
are left to-day. 



154 



XV 

FRANKFORT 

There is a legend which connects the 
foundation of Frankfort with a saying of 
Charlemagne's when he was warring against 
the Saxons, 

Having fortunately escaped an attack from 
a superior force, by crossing the river Main 
during a thick fog, Charlemagne thrust his 
lance into the sand of the river-bank and ex- 
claimed : '' It is here that I will erect a city, 
in memory of this fortunate event, and it shall 
be known as ' Franken Furth/ — ^ the Ford 
of the Franks.' " 

The city owes its ancient celebrity, in part, 
to the crowning of the emperors, which, be- 
fore Frankfort became an opulent commercial 
city, always took place here according to the 
laws promulgated in 1152 and 1356. Later 
the ceremony was transferred to Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle. 

The first historical mention of the city was 
155 



Cathedrals and Chttrches of the Rhine 

in 794, when Charlemagne convoked a Diet 
and a council of the Church. 

Frankfort suffered greatly during the 
Thirty Years' War, in the War of Succession, 
and in the Revolution in 1793. Napoleon 
made the city a grand duchy in favour of the 
Prince-Primate Charles of Dalberg. 

Of the ancient gateways of the city, but one 
remains to-day, that of Eschenheim, a fine 
monument of characteristically German fea- 
tures of the middle ages. It dates from the 
fourteenth century. 

One of the principal attractions of Frank- 
fort for strangers has ever been the Juden 
Gasse, — the street of the Jews. It dates from 
1662. As one enters, on the left, at No. 
148, is the maison paternelle of the celebrated 
Rothschilds. 

The cathedral at Frankfort is consecrated 
to St. Bartholomew. It was begun under the 
Carlovingians and was only completed in the 
fourteenth century. 

At the extreme western end is a colossal 
tower which ranks as one of the latest and 
most notable pure Gothic works in Germany 
(1415 - 1509). Its architect was John of Et- 
tingen, and it rises to a height of one hundred 
and sixty-three feet. 

156 







RANKEORT CATHEDRAL 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The fagade of the cathedral is entirely lack- 
ing in a decorative sense, and the lateral portal, 
on the south, is much encumbered by sur- 
rounding structures, though one sees peeping 
out here and there evidences of a series of 
hnely sculptured figures. 

Above the entrance to the cloister is an 
equestrian statue of St. Bartholomew, a mas- 
ter-work of sixteenth-century German sculp- 
ture. The skull of the apostle is preserved 
in the church proper. 

The general plan of the church is that of 
a Greek cross, but the termination which holds 
the choir is of much narrower dimensions than 
the other three arms. 

The grand nave offers nothing of remark, 
but the side aisle to the right contains a fine 
'' Ecce Homo " in bas-relief, placed upon the 
tomb of the Consul Hirde, who died in 151 8. 
Unfortunately the heads of many of the fig- 
ures, including that of the Christ, are badly 
scarred and broken. 

In the right transept are a series of very 
ancient German paintings and a number of 
escutcheons, coloured and in high relief, com- 
memorating benefactors of the church. 

The walls in the choir are covered with an- 
cient frescoes of the frankly German school. 

157 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

They undoubtedly date back to the fifteenth 
century, at least. 

At the right of the choir is the tomb of the 
Emperor Gunther of Schwarzburg, who died 
here in 1349. 

Above the high altar is a fine tabernacle, — 
a feature frequently seen in German churches, 
— of silver-gilt. To the left is an ancient iron 
grille of remarkable workmanship. 

At the head of the left aisle of the nave is 
a chapel containing a " Virgin at the Tomb," 
a coloured sculpture of the fifteenth century, 
surmounted by a very ornate Gothic balda- 
quin. 

In the left transept is the tomb of a knight 
of Sachsenhausen bearing the date of 1371. 
Here, too, is a somewhat dismantled and frag- 
mentary astronomical clock of the species best 
seen at Strasburg. 

The Protestant church of St. Nicholas is 
a fine ogival edifice, w^hich in more recent 
times was profaned by commercial uses. It 
has since been restored and its red sandstone 
fabric is surmounted by a fine spire. 

The interior shows a remarkably fine ogival 
choir as its chief feature, an organ-buffet car- 
ried out in the same style, which is most un- 
usual, and a charming wooden staircase with 

158 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

an iron railing leading to a tribune at the 
crossing. All of the accessories are modern, 
but the effect is unquestionably good. 

The church of St. Leonard dates from the 
thirteenth century and possesses as its chief 
exterior features two rather diminutive spires. 
The Emperor Frederick 11. ceded the site to 
the city, for the erection of a church, at the 
above mentioned period. 

The church of St. Catherine is of the seven- 
teenth century, and, like most religious erec- 
tions of its age, is in no way remarkable. The 
exterior, however, shows a rather pleasing 
square tower, which is surmounted by an oc- 
tagonal campanile. The interior has some 
fine modern paintings, well painted and 
equally well displayed. 

The church of St. Paul was formerly a 
Carmelite foundation. It is strictly modern, 
and was only completed in 1833. Its form is 
rather more pagan than Christian, being sim- 
ply a great oval, one hundred and thirty odd 
feet in length by one hundred and eight in 
w4dth. The interior is surrounded by a fine 
Ionic colonnade. 

In 1848 St. Paul's was appropriated to the 
sessions of the German parliament, to which 
purpose the structure was well suited. 

159 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The Liebfrauenkirche has a fine '' Adora- 
tion " sculptured above its principal portal. 
It is a good example of German sculpture 
in stone. Within the walls is a painting attrib- 
uted to Martin Schoen which merits consid- 
eration. 




1 60 



XVI 

MAYENCE 

Mayence has been variously called the city 
of Gutenberg, and of the Minnesingers. The 
Romans in Augustus's time had already forti- 
fied it and given it the name of Magontiacum. 

Near Mayence is the cenotaph of Drusus, 
where his ashes were interred after the funeral 
oration by Augustus, who came expressly from 
Rome into Gaul for the purpose. 

Mayence as a Roman colony was a military 
post of great importance, and the key to the 
fertile provinces watered by the Rhine. 

An episcopal seat was established here in 
the third century, but Christianity had a hard 
struggle against wars and internal disorders 
of many kinds. 

Many times the city has been devastated and 
rebuilt. In 718 Bishop Sigibert surrounded 
the city by a series of walls, and between 975 
and loi I Archbishop Willigis built the cathe- 
dral and the church of St. Stephen, at which 

161 



Cathedrals and Churches of tlie Rhine 



time the real Christianizing of Mayence may 
be said to have begun. 

The venerable old cathedral has many times 
been battered and bruised, and fire and bom- 
bardment have reduced its original form into 
somewhat of a hybrid thing, but it remains 
to-day the most stupendously imposing and 
bizarre cathedral of all the Rhine valley. 




^ Oitusw at 

MAYCfKE. 



In general its architecture is decidedly not 
good, but it is interesting, and therein lies the 
chief charm of a great church. 

During the siege of the French the cathedral 
at Mayence, in 1793, again took fire, and the 
western end of the roof of the choir, the nave, 
and the transept all succumbed. 

For ten years it remained in this state, until 
the order for restoration came from the om- 

162 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

nific Bonaparte, then first consul. In 1804 
the edifice was consecrated anew. 

In the year 636 there was held at Mayence 
an assembly of the bishops of the Prankish 
kingdom convoked by Dagobert, then king. 

Among the bishops of Mayence none had 
a reputation so popular as that of St. Boniface, 
who had been sent out by Pope Gregory III. 
as a missioner to the Rhine country. 

Boniface had given Pepin-le-Bref the sac- 
rament at Soissons in 752, upon the fall of 
the Merovingian dynasty, and in return King 
Pepin gave the bishopric of Mayence to St. 
Boniface. 

In 813 a numerous council met here, at the 
orders of Charlemagne, under the presidency 
of Hildebold, Archbishop of Cologne and 
chaplain of the holy palace at Rome. 

In the tenth century the church at Mayence 
did not fall to the sad state that it did else- 
where. Ecclesiastical writers of France have 
always referred to this period as le siecle de 
plomh, but at Mayence it still steadily ap- 
proached the golden age. 

Mayence was still distinguished by the zeal 
of its archbishops, whose good influences were 
far reaching. 

Under the episcopate of St. Boniface and 
163 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

his immediate successors the cathedral of Ma- 
yence was probably a wooden structure, as 
were many of the earlier churches of the evan- 
gelizing period in Germany and Gaul. 

The work on the mediaeval cathedral was 
completed by 1037, under Archbishop Bar- 
don, and its consecration took place in pres- 
ence of the Emperor Conrad 11. 

Twelve years after this ceremony, Pope Leo 
IX. came to Mayence and held a famous coun- 
cil, at which the emperor was present, accom- 
panied by the principal nobles of the empire. 

The cathedral fell a prey to the flames in 
1087, as well as three other neighbouring 
churches, say the older chronicles, and the 
ancient structure disappeared almost entirely, 
so far as its original outline was concerned. 

Archbishop Conrad of Wittelsbach restored 
the nave inside of three years, and the monu- 
ment again took on some of its ancient magnif- 
icence. In 1 198 Emperor Philip of Suabia, 
son of Frederick Barbarossa, was solemnly 
crowned in this cathedral by the Archbishop 
of Tarentaise, the Archbishop of Mayence be- 
ing at that time in the Holy Land. 

The twelfth-century work doubtless was 
erected on the foundations of Archbishop 
Bardon's structure. 

164 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The restoration of the transept and the west- 
ern choir followed, and the work went on more 
or less intermittently until the middle of the 
thirteenth century, when the fabric ap- 
proached somewhat the appearance that it 
has to-day. 

The completed structure was consecrated in 
1239, and, save the chapels of the late thir- 
teenth and fourteenth centuries, the body of 
the edifice has not greatly changed since that 
time. 

During the Thirty Years' War it became 
practically a ruin, however, though its later 
rebuilding was on the original lines. 

In 1793 the revolution which sprang up in 
France forced its way to the Rhine, and, when 
Mayence was besieged, the roof of the cathe- 
dral caught fire and the church itself was pil- 
laged and profaned. 

For a long time the old cathedral remained 
abandoned, as after an invasion of barbarians, 
which is about what the revolutionists proved 
themselves to be. In 1803 Napoleon saw fit 
to order it to be restored, and in the following 
year it was returned to its adherents. 

The ancient metropolis, however, lost the 
distinction which had been given to it in 
Roman times, and the glory first brought upon 

165 



Catliedrals and ClntrcJies of the Rhine 

it by St. Boniface lapsed when the arch-epis- 
copal see was suppressed. Mayence is now 
merely a bishopric, a suffragan of Cologne. 

In its general plan the cathedral at Mayence 
follows the outlines of a Latin cross, though 
its length is scarcely more than double its 
width. 

It is most singular in outline and has tvvo 
choirs, one at either end, as is a frequent Ger- 
man custom, and the sky-line is curiously 
broken by the six towers which pierce the air, 
no two at the same elevation. 

There are three portals which give entrance 
from various directions. There is yet a fourth 
entrance from the market-place, which takes 
one through a sort of cellar which is not in 
the least churchly and is decidedly unpleasant. 

The principal nave is supported by nine 
squared pillars, which are hardly beautiful 
in themselves, but which are doubtless neces- 
sary because of the great weight they have to 
bear. 

In the Gothic choir is a heavy baldaquin 
in marble, bearing figures of the twelve apos- 
tles. The high altar is directly beneath the 
cupola, or lantern, of the principal tower. It 
is quite isolated, and has neither flanking col- 
umns nor a baldaquin. On feast-days it is 

i66 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

brilliantly set forth with candelabra in a fash- 
ion which would be theatrical, if it were not 
churchly. 

Behind this altar is the space reserved for 
the clergy, a somewhat unusual arrangement, 
but not a unique one. At the extreme end is 
the bishop's throne. 

The general appearance of the interior con- 
structive elements would seem to place the 
work as a whole well within the thirteenth 
century, though the extreme easterly portion 
is more ancient still. 

There is very little of pure Gothic to be 
noted. Mostly the fabric is a reproduction 
of the Lombard style, though much undeni- 
ably Gothic ornament is used. The bays of 
the nave are singularly narrow and of great 
height, almost the reverse of the pure Italian 
manner of building which elsewhere made it- 
self strongly felt along the Rhine. The height 
of these bays is more than two and a half times 
the width. The bays of German churches, 
in general, have a much greater length than 
those of Italy, and herein is a marked differ- 
ence between the Italian and German styles in 
spite of other resemblances. 

There are in the cathedral numerous paint- 
ings of questionable artistic worth and an 

167 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

abundance of coloured glass, which is con- 
demned as comparatively modern and of no 
especial interest. 

The altar of St. Martin, with statues of 
Sts. Martin and Boniface, is near the baptis- 
tery. There are eight lateral chapels, out of 
fifteen in all, which are bare and without 
altars, showing a poverty — whatever may 
have been the cause — which is deplorable. 

In the Bassenheim chapel is a remarkable 
marble group taken from the church of Notre 
Dame, a Gothic edifice destroyed during the 
siege of 1793. 

There are numerous and beautiful funeral 
monuments scattered about the church, the 
most celebrated being that which surmounts 
the tomb of Frastrada, the third wife of 
Charlemagne, who died in 794, and was orig- 
inally interred in the church of St. Alban. 
The remains were removed to the cathedral 
when the former church was burned in 1552. 

On the tomb of Frastrada one may read the 
following eighth-century inscription: 

" Frastradana^ pia Carol! conjux vocitata^ 
Christo dilecta^ jacet hoc sub marmore tecta^ 
Anno septingentesimo nonagesimo quarto^ 
^uem numerum metro claudere musa negat 
168 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Rex pie^ quern gessit Virgo ^ licet hie cinerescit^ 
Spirit us h ceres sit patriae qua tristia nescit.^^ 

There are also the tombs of thirty-two arch- 
bishops, — a veritable valhalla of churchly 
fame. Mostly these tombs are ordinary 
enough, those of Archbishop Berthould of 
Henneberg and of the doyen of the chapter 
being alone remarkable. 

The chapel of St. Gothard, a dependency 
of the cathedral, was built by Archbishop 
Adelbert I. in 1135-36. 

The ancient cloister at Mayence dates from 
the mid-thirteenth century. Archbishop Sieg- 
fried was responsible for the work which was 
consecrated in the year 1243 in the presence 
of the Emperor Conrad, on the occasion of a 
synod which was being held at Mayence at 
that time. The cloister, as it exists to-day, is 
made up in part of this ancient work and in 
part of a more modern construction, this latter 
being the portion which adjoins the church 
proper. 

The chapter-house was built at the end of 
the twelfth century or at the beginning of the 
thirteenth. It is a square apartment covered 
with an ogival vaulting which springs from 
a range of pillars with delicately sculptured 

169 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

foliaged capitals. It is decidedly the archi- 
tectural gem of this composite edifice. 

To the north of the cathedral, in the Speide- 
Markt, is a remarkably fine fountain, restored, 
or perhaps rebuilt, in the sixteenth century by 
the Archbishop of Mayence. A baldaquin 
supported by three pillars rises above a well 
or spring, and on a stone slab one reads the 
following inscription in letters of gold: 

'^ Divo Karolo V Cesare semp Angus, post 
victoria gallicam rege ipso ad Ticinum supe- 
rato ac capto triumphante, fatalique rusticoru 
per Germnia (sic) cospiratione prostratd, Al- 
ter, card, et archiep. Mog. fonte hanc vetus- 
tate dilapsa ad civiil suorum posteritatisque 
usum restitui curavit anno MDXXVI/' 

The Meistersingers of Mayence owed their 
origin to Henry Misnie, who, according to 
some authorities, was a canon of the Church, 
and, according to others, a doctor of theology. 
He was devoted, at any rate, to poetry, and 
was, in the fourteenth century, founder of the 
school of the Master-singers. 

He dedicated a great part of his songs to the 
Virgin, his ideal of all that was pious and 
good. Later he widened the range of his dedi- 
cations to include all of the female sex, and 
beautiful women in particular. He is known 

170 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

in the history of German poetry under the 
name of Henry von Frauenlob. 

His death caused a universal sorrow among 
the fair sex of Mayence, who gave his funeral 
such honours as were never before known. 

The majority of the great procession which 
conducted his remains to the tomb, which 
had been prepared in the cathedral, were 
women, '' eight of the most beautiful bear- 
ing a crown of roses, lilies, and myrtle." 
This is a pretty enough sentiment, but it seems 
quite inexplicable to-day. History records 
that the master-singer's favourite drink was 
the noble wine of the Rhingau, and it is com- 
monly supposed to have inspired many of his 
beautiful songs. 

Legend steps in and says that " the naves of 
the cathedral were inundated by the libations 
which went on at this funeral ceremony." 

A modern white marble monument, put into 
place in 1842, and replacing one that had pre- 
viously disappeared, stands as a memorial to 
the sweet singer of the praises of women. 



171 



XVII 

BACHARACH, BINGEX, AND RUDESHEIM 

Bacharach is famous for its legends and 
its wine. With the former is associated the 
ruins of St. Werner's Church, a fragment of 
exquisite flamboyant Gothic, though built of 
what looks like a red sandstone. The Swedes 
demolished it in the Thirty Years' War, but 
the lantern and the eastern lancet window 
still remain to suggest its former great 
beauty. 

This beautiful chapel was built as a memo- 
rial to the child Werner, whose body was 
fabled to have been thrown by the Jews, his 
supposed murderers, into the Rhine at Ober- 
wesel. Instead of floating down-stream with 
the current, it went up-stream as far as Bacha- 
rach, where it was recovered. 

There is at Bacharach a twelfth-century 
church in the Byzantine style, which is now 
a Protestant temple. It is an incongruous 
affair in spite of the fact that the style is fairly 

172 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 



pure of its kind, so far as the body of the 
church is concerned. Surmounting it is a 
needle-like spire which rises above the cren- 




elated battlement of its tower in a most fan- 
tastic manner. 

The city walls have great ornamental and 

173 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

picturesque qualities, and were, in former 
days, defended by twelve towers of imposing 
strength. 

The evolution of the name of Bacharach is 
decidedly non-Christian. It is frankly pagan, 
being descended from Bacchi ara, — the altar 
of Bacchus, — which was the name originally 
given to a rock in the midst of the river, which, 
in varying seasons, is sometimes covered by 
the flood, and again quite dry. When its sur- 
face appears to the light of day, the vineyard 
owner hails it as a sign of good vintage. 

In proof of the quality of the wines of Bach- 
arach, it is said that Pope Pius II. used every 
year to have a great tun of it brought to Rome 
for his special use, and that the Emperor Wen- 
ceslas granted their freedom to the citizens of 
Nuremberg in return for four tuns of the wine 
of Bacharach. To-day Bacharach is, with 
Cologne, the great wine centre of the Rhine 
valley. 

Asmanhausen, a few miles up the river, is 
the central mart for the red wines of the Rhine. 
Near Asmanhausen is Ehrenfels, where the 
Archbishops of Mayence had a chateau in the 
thirteenth century. The chateau is still there, 
but it is nothing more than a magnificent 
ruin. 

174 




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Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Opposite Ehrenfels is Bingen, with its 
Mausethiirm. The chief sentimental memory 
of Bingen is unquestionably the legend of 
Bishop Hatto and his ^' Mouse Tower on the 
Rhine." 

The legend of Hatto, versified by Southey, 
has stamped the memory of the Mouse Tower 
and its associations so indelibly upon the mind 
that it overshadows in interest all else in the 
vicinity. 

" 'Tis the safest place in Germany ; 
The walls are high, and the shores are steep, 
And the stream is strong and the water deep." 

How the rats came and — 

"... whetted their teeth against the stones 
And how they picked the Bishop's bones " — 

is an old story with which children have been 
regaled for generations past. 

The great white " Mouse Tower " stands 
to-day on its tiny island in the middle of the 
waters of the Rhine, between Bingen and 
Ehrenfels, to perpetuate the story, while its 
ruined walls look down, as they always have, 
on the steady flow of the Rhine water, making 
its way from the place of its birth in the Can- 

177 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

ton of Grisons to the cold waters of the Ger- 
man ocean off the coast of Holland. 

Rudesheim 

Rudesheim, but a small town of less than 
three thousand inhabitants, is noted for its 
wines and its ruins. Its church, though a 
fifteenth-century edifice of more than ordi- 
nary beauty, — if we except its nondescript 
spire, — comes decidedly last in the city's list 
of attractions. 

The remains of the four chateaux in the 
neighbourhood are the chief object of the 
casual tourist. 

The town is the centre of a vineyard, the 
grapes being grown in great profusion near 
it. The favourable nature of the locality for 
grape-growing was discovered, it is said, by 
Charlemagne, who, remarking the rapid dis- 
appearance of the snow on the slopes about 
Rudesheim, declared his belief that fine wine 
might be grown there. Sending to France 
for some plants, they were placed in the earth, 
and have ever since yielded a grape worthy 
of their parentage, a grape still called 
Orleans. 

From this town the tourist may make :. 
178 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

pleasant excursion to the Niederwald, — hav- 
ing first given his attention to the history 
of Rudesheim, once the seat of an imperial 
court held in the Nieder Burg, — and scan its 
four ancient castles. Of these, one belonged 
for a time to Prince Metternich, who, how- 
ever, sold it to Count Ingelheim, its present 
possessor; another Is picturesquely posted at 
the upper part of the town, and still retains 
some curious relics of the Bromser family, its 
old possessors. A tradition still exists, telling 
how Hans Bromser, being taken captive in 
Jerusalem, made a vow to Heaven that if re- 
leased he would dedicate his only daughter 
to the service of the Church. Gaining his 
liberty soon afterward, he returned to the 
Rhine to find the child he had left when he 
started for the Crusades grown to woman- 
hood; and he learned also that, secure of her 
father's sanction, she had betrothed herself to 
a youthful knight. Love and duty well-nigh 
rent the maiden's heart in tAvain, till love con- 
quered, and she begged her stern parent to 
relent. This he refused to do, and threatened 
her with a father's curse should she marry. 

Despairing, she threw herself into the 
Rhine, and her body floated down-stream 
as far as Bishop Hatto's Mouse Tower, at 

179 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Bingen. This gave rise to another legend, that 
when the surface of the waters is troubled 
it is caused by the uneasy spirit of Bromser's 
daughter, wrestling with the dreadful fate to 
which she was driven. 




1 80 



XVIII 

LIMBURG 

The cathedral of Limburg-on-Lahn, not 
farther from the juncture of the Lahn and 
Rhine than is Frankfort-on-the-Main, may 
well be considered a Rhine cathedral. 

The Lahn is by no means so powerful a 
stream as is the Main or the Neckar; nor is it 
either picturesque, or even important as a 
waterway. 

It has this one virtue, however: it forms a 
setting to Limburg's many-spired cathedral 
that is truly grand. 

Limburg played a great part in the middle 
ages, and its origin goes far back into an- 
tiquity. Under Drusus a castellum was 
erected here, which was destroyed by the 
Franks and the Alemanni. 

The counts of the lower Lahn province 
were among the most powerful in all Ger- 
many. They gave their city the name of 

i8i 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Roemercastel, which name, to some extent, 
may be said to live up to to-day. Later the 
Franks called it Lintburc, from the little 
river Linther, which flows into the Lahn at 
this point. 

The cathedral of Limburg is the most im- 
posing and homogeneous of all the romano- 
ogival edifices of Germany. 

Consecrated to St. George, this church 
dates from the latter years of the twelfth cen- 
tury and the early part of the thirteenth. It 
was erected by Count Henry of Nassau, and 
replaced two more ancient edifices on the 
same site. 

Without a doubt it is a mediaeval monu- 
ment which stands supreme in its class, though 
its grandeur comes not so much from mere 
magnitude as it does from the general dis- 
position of its plan, and the wonderful blend- 
ing of the transition elements which, after all 
is said and done, in Germany, are not else- 
where very pronounced. 

The seven spires and towers of this cathe- 
dral form a wonderful grouping and make a 
sky-line more broken than that of any other 
great church in all Europe. 

There is a certain symmetry about this out- 
line, but it is not pyramidal, after the manner 

182 



1 1 t; 






^iT J^i 




L 



LMBURG CATHEDRAL 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

of the cathedral at Bonn. In short, it is rem- 
iniscent only of itself. 

On the west are a pair of massive towers 
with conical caps, which give a fagade at once 
remarkable and distinguished. 

Flanking the north transept are two smaller 
towers, and the same arrangement is found 
just opposite on the south. 

Above rises the great central octagon, sur- 
mounted in turn by a dwindling octagonal 
spire, not beautiful in itself with its steeply 
inclined slate or lead roofing, but which, 
under all atmospheric conditions, lends a har- 
mony to and is a key-note of the whole struc- 
ture which is wonderfully effective. 

The interior plan is conventional and sim- 
ple enough, consisting of the usual three 
naves, with an easterly apse, surrounded by 
an ambulatory and flanking chapel. 

Within, as well as from the outside, the 
efifect is one of an ampleness which is not 
borne out by the actual dimensions, which 
fact, of course, shows most able design and 
execution. 

The elevation of the nave, choir, and tran- 
septs is divided into four ranges of openings, 
^uch as are seen at Soissons in the Isle of 



183 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

France, and, in a less complete form, in Notre 
Dame at Paris. 

This has always been a daring procedure, 
but in this case it has been carried out with 
success, and gives the desired effect, — that 
of ampleness and height. 

In the clerestory windows are found the 
rounded arches which mark the link w^hich 
binds the Gothic arches elsewhere in the fab- 
ric with the earlier Romanesque style. 

The vaulting is of the Gothic order 
throughout, with gracefully proportioned 
shafts and full-flowered capitals. 

All this preserves the simple elements of 
early Gothic in so impressive a way that the 
observer will quite overlook, or at least make 
allowance for, the row of round-headed win- 
dows aloft. 

The triforium gallery is a charming fea- 
ture, and has seldom been found so highly 
developed outside of an early Gothic church. 
In general the feature is French, and this is 
perhaps the only example outside France 
which is so reminiscent of that variety fre- 
quently to be met with in the cathedrals of 
the Isle of France. 

The triforium is pierced through to the 
nave by a series of double narrow arches en- 

184 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

closed within a larger broad-framed arch, 
while in the transepts and choir the desired 
effect is accomplished by tripled arches with 
the same general scheme of arrangement. 

With regard to furnishings and accesso- 
ries, this great cathedral is singularly com- 
plete. 

There is a highly ornate pulpit in sculp- 
tured wood which some will consider the peer 
of any seen elsewhere. It is decorated further 
by a series of painted wooden statues of the 
saints, Nicholas, Ambrose, Augustin, Greg- 
ory, and Jerome. 

There is a fine custode covering a pyx, 
which is surmounted by a fifteenth-century 
baldaquin, and a tomb of a former canon, 
ornamented in bas-relief. 

There is also a pair of baptismal fonts, 
enormous in size and said to be contem- 
poraneous with the foundation of the cathe- 
dral. 

A tomb of Daniel of Mutersbach, a knight 
who died in 1475, is placed in one of the 
chapels at the crossing, and near by is a mau- 
soleum to that Conrad who, by virtue of a 
charter given by Louis in 909, founded the 
church which preceded the present edifice on 
this site. 

185 



Catliedrals and C/mrches of the Rhine 

It bears the following inscription in the 
barbarous Latin of the time: 

CLAUDITUR HOC TUMULO PER OUEM 

NUNX SERVITUS ISTO 

FIT CELEBRIS TEMPLO, LAUS, VIRTUS, 

GLORIA CHRISTO. 



1 86 



XIX 

COBLENZ AND BOPPART 

Coblenz 

It is an open question as to whether the 
charming little city of Coblenz is more de- 
lightful because of itself, or because of its 
proximity to the famous fortress of Ehren- 
breitstein, — " the broad stone of honour." 

" Here Ehrenbreitstein with her shatter'd wall 
Black with the miner's blast upon her height, 
Yet shows of what she was, when shell and ball 
Rebounding idly on her strength did light." 

The city occupies a most romantically and 
historically endowed situation at the junction 
of the Moselle and the Rhine. 

At Coblenz the sons of Charlemagne met 
to divide their father's empire into France, 
Germany, and Italy; there also Edward III. 
in 1338 met the Emperor Louis, and was by 
him appointed vicar of the empire; and at 
Coblenz the French raised a monument to 

187 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

commemorate the subjugation of Russia. 
Soon after the inscription was finished, the 
Russian commander entered Coblenz in pur- 
suit of Napoleon. With memorable and caus- 
tic wit he left the inscription as it stood, just 
adding, " Vu et approuve par nous, Com- 
mandant Russe de la Ville de Coblence, Jan- 
vier ler, 1814." Here also is the monument 
to the young and gallant General Marceau, 
killed at the battle of Altenkirchen, 1796. 

" By Coblenz, on a rise of gentle ground, 
There is a small and simple pyramid. 
Crowning the summit of the verdant mound : 
Beneath its base are hero's ashes hid." 



The Moselle, which joins the Rhine at Co- 
blenz, was, like the Rhine itself, referred to 
by Caesar. 

The pleasant valley of the Moselle — in- 
deed it is one of the pleasantest (which is a 
vague term, but one easily understood by all) 
in all Europe — was celebrated by one of 
the longer poems of Ausonius, who wrote in 
the fourth century. 

For those who would translate the original, 
his description will not be found inapropos 
to-day: 

188 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

" ^ua sublimis apex longo super ardua tractu 
Et rupes et aprica jugi^Jlexusque sinusque 
Vitihus adsurgunt naturalique theatro" 

Vines then, as now, clothed the slopes of 
the hills and cliffs which sheltered the deep- 
cut stream. 

A Roman governor of Gaul once proposed 
to unite the Moselle with the Saone (as it is 
to-day, by means of the Canal de TEst), and 
thus effect a waterway across Europe from 
the North Sea to the Mediterranean. 

The church of St. Castor stands on the spot 
of the famous conference between the sons of 
Charlemagne. It is one of the most ancient 
of the Rhine churches, and was founded by 
Louis the Pious in 836. 

Of this early church but little remains to- 
day except some distinct features to be noted 
in the choir. 

The four towers form a remarkable outline, 
and two of them, at least as to their lower 
ranges, are undoubtedly of the eleventh cen- 
tury. 

In this church are a series of remarkable 
decorations, one on the wall above the spring 
of the nave arches, another above the entrance 
of the choir aisle, and yet another in the semi- 

189 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

circular roofing of the apse. It may be a 
question as to how far such decorations are 
in really good taste, but they certainly lend 
a warmth and brilliancy to an edifice that 
might otherw^ise be cold and unfeeling. 

Many are the historic incidents connected 
with this venerable building. The notifica- 
tion of the sons of Louis the Pious took place 
in 870; the reconciliation of Henri IV. of 
Germany with his sons occurred in 1105; St. 
Bernard preached the Crusades here before 
a vast congregation, recruiting for the army 
for the East over one thousand citizens of 
Coblenz alone. 

Near the church of St. Castor is the house 
of the Teutonic Order, of fine Gothic design, 
but to-day turned into a military magazine. 

On a hill overlooking the city was the fa- 
mous Chartreuse convent, the ruins of which 
are now swallowed up by Forts Constantine 
and Alexander. 

The bridge which crosses the Moselle at 
this point is in itself a wonderful old relic. 
It spans the river on fourteen arches, and 
dates from 1344, save that its watch-tower was 
built at a later day. 

The bridge of boats which crosses the 
Rhine, on thirty-six pontoons, partakes of the 

190 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

same characteristics as its brother at Mayence, 
though by no means is it so celebrated. 

Above Coblenz the Rhine narrows consid- 
erably, and the mountains and hilltops draw 
in until one's progress, by water, is almost as 
if it were through a canon. 

Niederlahnstein has a fine ruined church 
in St. John's, whence it is but a short distance 
to Boppart. 

Boppart 

Boppart was the ancient Bandobriga of the 
Romans, and, like many another place along 
the Rhine, is closely linked with the memory 
of Drusus. 

Boppart was made an imperial city, and 
many Diets wxre held within its walls. 

The Hauptkirche, with its twin-jointed 
spires, was built about the year 1200. 

It is thoroughly Romanesque, if we except 
the spires wKch are linked together by a sort 
of galleried vestibule, after a manner that 
is neither Romanesque nor anything else. 

The inside galleries over the aisles [mdn- 
nerchore) are interesting, though by no means 
a unique feature in RTiine churches. 

There is a queer intermixture of pointed 
and round-headed arches in both the nave and 

191 



Cathedrals and Churches of the RJiine 

choir, but nothing to indicate that it was any- 
thing but a Romanesque influence that in- 
spired the builders of this not very appealing 
church. 

The vestibule which joins the spires, and 
the most unusual groining of the vaulting of 
the body of the church, are two features which 
the expert will linger over and marvel at, 
but they have not much interest for the lay 
observer who will prefer to stroll along the 
river-bank and pick out charming vistas for 
his camera. 

The convent of Marienburg, which rises 
high on the hillside back of the town, has an 
ancient history and was a vast foundation to 
which references are continually met with in 
history. To-day it is a hydropathic estab- 
lishment for semi-invalids and devotees of 
bridge and tea parties. 

The Carmelite church contains some richly 
carved sixteenth-century monuments, now 
somewhat mutilated, but very beautiful. 

The Templehof perpetuates the fact that 
it was the Knights Templars of Boppart who 
first mounted the breach at the storming of 
Ptolemais in the third crusade. 

This completes the list of Boppart's ecclesi- 
astical monuments. 

192 




(J 



of BOPPART 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

In the fourteenth century the town was a 
" free imperial city " ; but, following upon 
political dissension with its neighbours, it 
was returned to the guardianship of the Arch- 
bishop of Treves. 

Previously it would appear that the inhab- 
itants had not been very religious, but the 
archbishop was able to induce them to build 
him a chateau here as a place of temporary 
residence; " the first service," says the chron- 
icle of the time, '' which we have rendered our 
gracious master." 




193 



XX 

LAACH AND STOLZENFELS 
Laach 

Back of Coblenz is the charming little 
lake of Laach, at the other end of which is 
the picturesque but deserted abbey of Laach, 
one of the most celebrated, architecturally and 
historically, of all the religious edifices along 
the Rhine. 

Once a Benedictine convent, it was pillaged 
and its inmates dispersed during the overflow 
of the French Revolution, and is now naught 
but a ruin, though in many respects a grandly 
preserved one. 

The abbey was founded in 1093 by 
Henry IL of Laach, Count Palatine of Lower 
Lorraine, and the first Count Palatine of the 
Rhine. 

Its magnificent church, built in the most 
acceptable Gothic, contains the remains of 
its founder and many nobles. 

The monks of the abbey were, in the mid- 
194 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

die ages, greatly celebrated for their knowl- 
edge of the sciences and their hospitality. 
Their library was richly stored with biblio- 
graphical treasures, and they possessed a fine 
collection of paintings. To-day the abbey 
and its dependencies is but a shadow of its 
former self ; its library and its picture-gallery 




have disappeared, and, early in the nineteenth 
century, the establishment was sold for a price 
so small that it would be a sacrilege to men- 
tion it. 

Stolzenfels 

The mention of the castle of Stolzenfels 
hardly suggests anything churchly or devout, 

195 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

though those who know the history of this 
most picturesque of all Rhine castles (restored 
though it be) know also that it was an early 
foundation of Archbishop Arnold of Treves 
in the thirteenth century, and was, during the 
century following, the residence of his suc- 
cessors. 

Placed high upon its ''proud rock!' the 
restored fabric to-day wonderfully resembles 
the castled-crag of one's imagination. 

Archbishop Werner of Strasburg also made 
it his residence in turn, and later the English 
princess betrothed to the Emperor Freder- 
ick II. of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was enter- 
tained there. 

The castle was nearly destroyed by the 
French in 1688, and in 1825 the ruin was 
made over to the then prince royal, afterward 
King of Prussia. 

Within the reconstructed walls, topped 
with a series of crenelated battlements, after 
the true mediaeval manner, one finds an ample 
courtyard, from which lead the entrances to 
the various parts of the vast fortress. 

Innumerable apartments open out one from 
the other, all forming a great museum filled 
with all manner of curios and relics. 

In a corner of one great room was long 
196 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 



kept (they may or may not be there yet; the 
writer does not know) the Austrian and Swiss 
standards taken in the Thirty Years' War. 



.-^Xr ^ 




5TOLZ£NF£L5 



There was also a cabinet containing the sabre 
of Murat, taken at Waterloo; the sabres of 
Blucher, of Poniatowski, and Sobieski; and 
• 197 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhme 

the swords of the Due d'Albe and De Tilly; 
and, incongruously enough, a knife and fork 
said to have belonged to Andreas Hofer, the 
hero of the Tyrol. 

In the chamber of the king is a magnificent 
piece of ecclesiastical furniture in the form 
of a processional cross said to date from the 
eighth century. 

The fine Gothic chapel is decidedly the 
gem of the whole fabric and its accessories, 
and, though only finished in its completeness, 
during the present day, it is a master copy of 
the best style of the Gothic era. 




198 



XXI 

ANDERNACH AND SINZIG 
Andernach 

Andernach is one of the oldest cities in 
the Rhine valley, and grew up out of one of 
Drusus's camps, which was built here when 
the town was known as Antonacum. 

This was its early history, as given by Am- 
mien Marcellin; and a later authority men- 
tions it as the second city of the electorate 
of Treves {Die Andre Darnach) , 

In the records of Drusus's time, there is 
a reference to a chateau here, which was the 
fiftieth he had built upon the banks of the 
Rhine. 

The kings of Austrasia had their palace 
here as well, so the place became a political 
and strategic city of very nearly the first rank. 

In the middle ages Andernach shone bril- 
liantly among the centres of commerce in the 
Rhine valley. 

Charles V. was responsible for a battle be- 
199 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

tween the inhabitants of Linz and those of 
Rhieneck and Andernach, in which nearly 
all the latter were massacred. 

To soften any hard feeling that might still 
exist, a sermon was always preached, up to 
the last century; in the market-place, on St. 
Bartholomew's Day, urging the people to for- 
give their enemies. The records tell, how- 
ever, that on one occasion an unfortunate in- 
habitant of Linz was discovered in Ander- 
nach, and that he was forthwith put to death 
in most unchristianlike fashion. 

The Gate of Coblenz at Andernach is gen- 
erally regarded as an ancient Roman work, 
though not of the monumental order usual in 
works of its kind. 

The present fortifications date from the 
fifteenth century, as does the picturesque 
watch-tower by the waterside. 

With Andernach is identified the tradition 
of a Count Palatine, who, returning from the 
Holy Wars, was persuaded by a false friend 
that his lady had proved faithless; and, with- 
out listening to excuse, drove her forth to the 
woods. In the forest she found shelter with 
her youthful son, lodging in caves and living 
on fruits and herbs for many years. One day 
her husband, having lost his companions in 

200 




G 



ENERAL VIEW 
of ANDERNACH 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the chase, came by accident upon her place 
of concealment. The wife of his bosom, care- 
fully nurtured in her youth, but now living 
unattended in the wilds, and his son, now 
grown into a fine youth, excited his pity. Lis- 
tening to the truth, he took home the innocent 
victims of perfidy, and retaliated upon the tra- 
ducer by hanging him from the highest tower 
of his castle. After her death, the countess be- 
came St. Genofeva, and is the patroness of 
the parish church of St. Genevieve, which is 
a lofty structure with four towers which rise 
high above the surrounding buildings in a 
fashion which would be truly imposing were 
the church less overornamented in all its parts. 

The actual foundation of the church dates 
from Carlovingian times, and a tenth-century 
church is visibly incorporated into the present 
fabric, but in the main the present structure 
is of the thirteenth century. 

The fagade, as is the case with most of the 
Romano-Byzantine churches on the Rhine, 
is flanked by two fine towers, showing some 
slight traces of the incoming ogival style. 

Flanking the apside are two other towers, 
somewhat heavier and thoroughly Roman- 
esque in motive. 

The southern doorway is surrounded by a 

20I 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

series of remarkably elaborate and excellent 
sculptures, showing delicate foliage, birds, 
and human figures disposed after the best 
manner of the Romanesque. The northern 
doorway is decorated in a similar manner, 
with an elaborate grouping of two angels and 
the paschal lamb in the tympanum. To the 
right of this portal is a curious coloured bas- 
relief set in the wall. It represents the death 
of the Virgin, and dates from the early six- 
teenth century. 

The interior is divided into three naves by 
two ranges of pillars, square and very short. 
The arcades between the aisles and the nave 
are rounded, but the vaulting is ogival. 

The second range of pillars forms an arcade 
quite similar to the lower one, but the pillars 
are of black marble. A modern balustrade, 
which has been added, is frightful in its con- 
trast with the more ancient constructive de- 
tails. 

Above all are six windows on a side, which 
in plan and proportions resemble those of the 
side aisles. 

The choir is in effect a cul-de-four, and is 
lighted by five windows placed rather high 
up. Below are a series of niches, in which 
are placed modern statues, about as bad as 

202 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

can be imagined, even in these degenerate 
architectural times. 

The gallery behind the second tier of col- 
umns is known as the mannshaus, being in- 
tended for the male portion of the congrega- 
tion, the women sitting below. 

The pulpit came from the old abbey of 
Laach. 

On the left of the grand nave is the tomb 
of a knight of Lahnstein, who died in 1541. 

There is another legend connected with 
Andernach which may well be recounted 
here. 

One day, during the minority of the Em- 
peror Henry IV., the tutors of the prince, the 
proud Archbishop Annon of Cologne and the 
Palatine, Henry the Furious, held a meeting 
with certain other seigneurs at Andernach. 
The same day the inhabitants of Giils, a vil- 
lage near Coblenz, lodged a complaint before 
the Palatine concerning the exactions of the 
provost of their village. This last, himself, 
followed the deputies, magnificently clothed 
and mounted upon a richly caparisoned horse, 
counting upon his presence to counteract the 
impression they might make. Among the 
collection of wild beasts which had been gath- 
ered together for the amusement of the princes 

203 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

was a ferocious bear. When the provost 
passed near him, the animal sprang upon him 
and tore him to pieces, whereupon it was sup- 
posed that the venerable archbishop had exer- 
cised a divine power, and delivered up the 
oppressor to the fury of a wild beast. Like 
most of the Rhine legends, it is astonishingly 
simple in plot, and likewise has a religious 
turn to it, which shows the great respect of 
the ancient people of these regions toward 
their creed. 

Sinzig 

Between Andernach and Bonn is the tiny 
city of Sinzig, famous for two things, — its 
charmingly disposed parish church and the 
wines of Assmanhaus. 

The town was the ancient Sentiacum of 
the Romans, constructed in all probability by 
Sentius, one of the generals of Augustus. 

The church at Sinzig, in company w4th St. 
Quirinus at Neuss, has some of the best medi- 
aeval glass in Germany. 

This small, but typically Rhenish, parish 
church has also a series of polychromatic 
decorations which completely cover its avail- 
able wall space. 

There is a vividness about them w^hich may 
204 




St}!Z2cr 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

be pleasing to some, but which will strike 
many as being distinctly unchurchly. 

As a Christian edifice, the church at Sinzig, 
with its central tower and spire, is only re- 
markable as typifying the style of Romano- 
ogival architecture which developed so 
broadly in the Rhine valley at the expense of 
the purer Gothic. 



207 



XXII 

TREVES 

Southwesterly from Coblenz, between 
the Rhine and Metz, is Treves, known by 
the Germans as Trier. Situated at the south- 
ern end of a charming valley, which more 
or less closely follows the banks of the Mo- 
selle, it has the appearance of being a vast 
park with innumerable houses and edifices 
scattered here and there through the foliage. 
The city contains many churches, of which the 
cathedral of St. Pierre et Ste. Helene is the 
chief. 

At one time the Augusta Trevirorum of 
the Romans was '' the richest, the most for- 
tunate, the most glorious, and the most emi- 
nent of all the cities north of the Alps," said 
an enthusiastic local historian. 

The claim may be disputed by another 
whose civic pride lies elsewhere, but all know 
that Treves, as the flourishing capital of the 
Gaulois beiges, actually rivalled Rome itself. 

208 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Augustus established a Roman colony here 
with its own Senate, and many of the Roman 
emperors of the long line which followed 
made it their residence during their sojourn 
in the north. 

From the Augusta Trevirorum of the Ro- 
mans, the city became in time, under the l,ater 
Empire, Treviri, from which the present 
nomenclature of Treves and Trier comes. It 
was one of the sixty great towns which were 
taken from the Romans by the Franks and 
the Alemanni. 

The Roman bridge over the Moselle, built 
probably by Agrippa, existed until the wars 
of Louis XIV., in 1669, when it was blown 
up ; and all that now remains of the original 
work are the foundations of the piers, which 
were built upon anew in the eighteenth cen- 
tury. 

As a bishopric, and later as an archbishop- 
ric, the see is the most ancient in Germany, 
having been founded in 327 by the Empress 
Helene. 

In the twelfth century it became an arch- 
bishopric and an electorate, but during the 
fourteenth century, because of continual 
struggles between the municipality and the 
Church, the archbishops removed to Coblenz. 

209 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

In the cathedral rests the Holy Coat of 
Treves, one of the most sacred relics of the 
Saviour extant, and supposedly the veritable 
garment worn by him at the crucifixion, — 
the seamless garment for which the soldiers 
cast lots (John xix. 23, 24). 

When exposed to public view, which cere- 
mony used to take place only once in thirty 
years, the holy robe is placed upon the high 
altar, which has previously been dressed for 
the occasion. The altar is approached by many 
steps on each side, and there are several steps 
at intervals in the aisles, so that the appear- 
ance of the long line of pilgrims on their way 
down the side aisles and up to the altar is 
most picturesque. As many as twenty thou- 
sand pilgrims are said to have paid their de- 
votions to this relic in a single day. They 
come in processions of hundreds, and some- 
times thousands; and are of all classes, but 
mostly peasants. The lame, the blind, and 
the sick are included in their ranks, and it 
is noticeable that the majority are women. 
They are constantly arriving, pouring in at 
several gates of the city in an almost continual 
stream, accompanied by priests, banners, and 
crosses, and alternately singing and praying. 
There are many of them heavily laden, their 

210 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

packs on their backs, their bright brass pans, 
pitchers, and kettles of all shapes in their 
hands, or slung on their arms, while their 
fingers are busily employed with their beads. 
Wayworn and footsore, fatigued and hungry, 
they yet pursue their toilsome march, intent 
upon the attainment of the one object of their 
pilgrimage. It is curious and picturesque to 
see their long lines of processions in the open 
country, wending their slow way over the 
hills, and to hear their hymns, mellowed by 
distance into a pleasant sound across the broad 
Rhine. From Germany, Belgium, Holland, 
France, Hungary, and even Switzerland and 
Italy they come, and during the whole of 
their journeys the pilgrims sing and pray 
almost continually. The accomplishment of 
their pilgrimages entitles them, by payment 
of a small offering, to certain absolutions and 
indulgences. The pure-minded peasant girl 
seeks remission of sins, the foodless peasant 
a liberty to eat what the expenses of this pil- 
grimage will perhaps deprive him of the 
means of obtaining. The city is literally 
packed with pilgrims, and the scene in the 
market-place at nightfall is in the highest 
degree interesting and picturesque. 

" The Holy Coat of Treves " is a simple 

21 I 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

tunic, apparently of linen or cotton, of a fabric 
similar to the closely woven mummy-cloth of 
the Egyptians. Undoubtedly it is of great 
antiquity, which many sacred reliques may 
or may not be, judging from their appear- 
ances. In appearance it is precisely the same 
as is that worn by the modern Arab. 

This form of tunic, then, has come down 
from the ages with but little change in the 
fashions, and seems to be worn by all classes 
in the East. In colour the relic may orig- 
inally have been blue, though now of course 
it is much faded; in fact, is a rusty brown. 

The history of this holy robe, according to 
a Professor Marx, who wrote an account of it 
which had the approval of the Archbishop 
of Treves, is authenticated as far back as 1 157 
by written testimony, it having been men- 
tioned as then existing in the cathedral of 
Treves by Frederick I. in a letter addressed 
to Hillen, Archbishop of Treves in that year. 
Its earliest history depends wholly on tradi- 
tion, which says that it was obtained by the 
Empress Helene in the year 326, while in 
the Holy Land, whither she went for the 
express purpose . of obtaining relics of our 
Saviour and his followers; that she gave it 
to the see of Treves, and that it was deposited 

212 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

in the cathedral of that city; that it was after- 
ward lost, having been hidden in disturbed 
times within the walls of the cathedral, and 
rediscovered under the Archbishop John I., 
in 1 196 ; that it was again hidden for the same 
reason, brought to light, and exposed to the 
wondering multitude in 15 12, on the occasion 
of the famous Diet of Treves, under the Em- 
peror Maximilian. " Since this last epoch," 
says the author of the work already quoted, 
" the history of the Holy Robe has been often 
discussed, written, and sung, because it has 
been often publicly exposed, and at short in- 
tervals, whenever political troubles have not 
prevented." 

At Treves is an ancient tomb to Cardinal 
Ivo, with heavily sculptured capitals sur- 
mounting four small columns, whose pedestals 
are crouching lions. But for the crudity of 
the sculpture, and the weird beasts at its base, 
one might almost think the tomb a Renais- 
sance work. 

The cardinal died in 1142, and the work 
is unquestionably of the Romanesque period. 
It is reminiscent, moreover, of the southern 
portal of the Cathedral of Notre Dame of 
Embrun in the south of France; indeed, a 
drawing of one might well pass for the other 

213 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

were it not labelled, though to be sure there 
is a distinct difference in detail. 

Among the treasures of Treves is a censer, 
one of the most elaborate ever devised. It 
is in the form of an ample bowl, with its cover 
worked in silver in the form of a church 
on the lines of a Greek cross. The device is 
most unusual, but rather clumsily ornate. 

There are two curious statues in the portal 
of Notre Dame; one representing the Church 
and the other the synagogue; the one with a 
clear, straightforward look in her eyes, the 
other blindfolded and with the crown falling 
from her head. The symbol is frequently 
met with, but the method of indicating the 
opposition of the new religious law to that 
of the old is, in these life-size statues at 
Treves, perhaps unique. The figures are 
somewhat mutilated, each lacking the arms, 
but in other respects they stand as originally 
conceived. 

The cathedral of St. Pierre et Ste. Helene 
is situated in the most elevated portion of the 
city, and, like the cathedral at Bonn, above 
Cologne, presents that curious pyramidal ef- 
fect so often remarked in Rhenish churches. 

There is no very great beauty in the out- 
lines of this church, which is a curious jumble 

214 



wr ^"^^fi^ 




'"■^KtVtb t^Ai JrmUKAi. 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

of towers and turrets ; but there are some very 
good architectural details, quite worthy of a 
more splendid edifice. Ste. Helene, the 
mother of Constantine, herself placed the 
first stone in the easterly portion of the pres- 
ent church, a fact which was only discovered 
in the seventeenth century, when the founda- 
tions were being repaired. It is supposed 
originally to have been a part of the palace 
of the Empress Helene, afterward converted 
into a house of God. 

One notes in the interior a remarkably 
beautiful series of Corinthian columns with 
elaborately carved capitals of the eleventh 
century. In later years these have been 
flanked by supporting pillars which detract 
exceedingly from the beauty of the earlier 
forms. 

In parts the edifice is frankly French 
Gothic, Byzantine, and what we know else- 
where as Norman, — a species of the Roman- 
esque. 

In 1717 the church suffered considerably 
by fire, but it was repaired forthwith, and 
to-day gives the effect of a fairly well cared 
for building of three naves and a double 
choir. 

There are sixteen altars, some of which are 
215 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 



modern, and two organs, cased as usual in 
hideous mahogany. 




. PULPIT 

TREVES 

The high altar and the pulpit are excel- 
lently sculptured, and there are some notable 
monuments to former archbishops and elect- 
ors. 

216 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Beneath the church are vast subterranean 
passages, and a great vault where repose the 
ancient regents of the province. 

Architecturally, Treves's other remarkable 
church (Notre Dame) quite rivals the cathe- 
dral itself in interest. It is one of the best 
examples of German mediaeval architecture 
extant. 

In the year 1227 when St. Gereon's at Co- 
logne, one of the earliest examples of ogival 
vaulting in Germany, was just finished, there 
was commenced the church of Notre Dame 
at Treves. It was the first church edifice in 
Germany to consistently carry out the Gothic 
motive from the foundation stones upward. 

For fifty years the well-defined Gothic had 
been knocking at the gateway which led from 
France into Germany, and at last it was to 
enter at a period when the cathedrals at Sois- 
sons and Laon had already established them- 
selves as well-nigh perfect examples of the 
new style. 

The first foundation stone was laid in 1227, 
and the work was completed in less than 
twenty years. The general plan is grandiose 
and it has a central cupola — replacing a 
tower which was in danger of subsiding — 
held aloft by twelve hardy columns, on which 

217 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

are ranged in symmetrical order statues of 
the apostles. 

The plan is unusual and resembles no 
Gothic structure elsewhere, hence may be 
considered as a type standing by itself. 

The exterior shows little or nothing of the 
highly developed Gothic which aw^aits one 
when viewing the interior. There are no 
flying buttresses, the walls seemingly support- 
ing themselves, and yet they are not clumsy. 
The piers of the chapel somewhat perform 
the functions of buttresses, and that perhaps 
makes possible the unusual arrangement. 

The church of St. Gangolphe, on the 
market-place, has a singularly beautiful and 
very lofty tower, which gives to whoever has 
the courage to make its rather perilous ascent 
one of the most charming prospects of the 
valley of the Moselle possible to imagine. 

The chief of Treves's other churches are; 
the church of the Jesuits, since ceded to the 
Protestants; St. Gervais, which has a tomb 
to Bishop Hontheim, a most learned man and 
a great benefactor of Treves in days gone by; 
St. Antoine; and St. Paul. 

The country around Treves, on the Moselle, 
— the famous Treves Circle, — ranks high as 
a wine-growing region, though your true Ger- 

218 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

man wine-drinker calls all Moselle wine 
'' Unnosel Wein!' 

These wines of the Moselle are, to be sure, 
secondary to those of the vineyards of the 
Rhine and the Main, but the varieties are very 
numerous. 

A Dutch burgomaster once bought of the 
Abbey of Maximinus — a famous wine-grow- 
ing establishment as well as a religious com- 
munity — a variety known as Gruenhaiiser, 
in 1793, for eleven hundred and forty-four 
florins a vat of something less than three hun- 
dred gallons. It was known as the nectar of 
Moselle, and '' made men cheerful, and did 
good the next day, leaving the bosom and 
head without disorder." Such was the old- 
time monkish estimate and endorsement of 
its virtues. 




219 



XXIII 

BONN 

Bonn in the popular mind is noteworthy 
chiefly for its famous university, and for being 
the birthplace of Beethoven. 

The city was one of the fifty fortresses built 
by Drusus on the Rhine, and the only Rhenish 
city, with the exception of Cologne, which has 
kept its Roman appellation. It is mentioned 
by Tacitus both as Bonna and Bonensia castra. 

The cathedral is as famous as the univer- 
sity. It was founded by the mother of Con- 
stantine the Great, who, according to tradi- 
tion, consecrated the primitive church here 
in 319.' 

Really, it is not a very stupendous pile, the 
present cathedral, but it looks far more impos- 
ing than it really is by reason of its massive 
central tower and steeple. 

It is one of the most ancient and most re- 
markable of the cathedrals on the banks of 
the Rhine. 

220 



I^H 




^^I^M^^^Kni^^^K ^^^^^E^^^I^^^^^^^B^^^^^^B^^^^^B 




S^^^^^H^^^^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^HF^^ TvT'i 


■|l!l^^^^BS|-aB| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^- "^^Mj^H 






GENERAL 
VIEW 
of BONN 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The effect of its five towers is that of a great 
pyramid rising skyward from a broad base. 

In the main, it is a construction of the 
twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but it is 




■^f&ONH ... 



known beyond doubt that the choir and the 
crypt were built in 1157. To-day there are 
visible no traces of even the foundations of 
the primitive church. 

There are two polygonal apsides, more no- 
ticeable from without than within. 



221 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The main portal, or the most elaborate at 
least, is that of the north fagade. 

The interior is not as sombre and sad as 
is often the case with a very early church. 
To enter, one ascends eight steps to the pave- 
ment, when the rather shallow vista of the 
nave and choir opens out broadly. 

There are a series of white marble statues 
representing the birth and baptism of Christ, 
and some paintings of notable merit, including 
an " Adoration." 

In the crypt, already mentioned, are the 
bones of the martyrs, Cassius, Florentinus, and 
Malusius. 

The chief interest of the interior, outside 
of the constructive elements of the fabric, cen- 
tres in a great statue of St. Helene in bronze, 
v^hich is placed in the middle of the grand 
nave. It is a fine monument, and was cast 
in the seventeenth century as a somewhat tardy 
recognition of the founder of the church at 
Bonn. 

At the western extremity of the nave is the 
Gothic tomb of Archbishop Englebert, and 
another of Archbishop Robert. 

The choir is somewhat raised above the 
pavement of the nave, being placed upon the 
vaulting of the crypt. The walls of the choir 

222 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

are hung with gilded Cordovan leather, which 
is certainly rich and beautiful, though it has 
been criticized as being more suitable to a 
boudoir than a great church. 

At the foot of the choir, to the right, is a 
tabernacle, a feature frequently met with in 
German churches. It is of Renaissance design 
and workmanship, and is ungainly and not in 
the best of taste. 

Behind the great pillars of the choir are 
found, back to back, two imposing altars, to 
which access is had by mounting a dozen more 
steps, far above the pavement of the nave. 
They are most peculiarly disposed, and are 
again a Renaissance interpolation which 
might well have been omitted. 

In this dimly lighted cathedral, as well as 
in many other churches of Germany, you may 
at times hear that hymn known as " Ratisbon," 
the words of which begin : 

" 'Jesus meine Zuversicht 
Lebt^ und ich soil mit ihm leben,^* 

There is a legend — or it may be a true tale 
" — connecting these verses with a German sol- 
^ dier who died at the fateful battle of Jena. 
Fleeing from the French, he had fallen into 
223 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the waters of the Saale. Recovering himself, 
he crawled out, only to find his pursuers on 
the bank, their firearms levelled at his head. 
His first thought was to thank God for his 
safety from the flood, and, kneeling, he played 
upon his bugle the familiar air to which the 
hymn, ''Jesus meine Zuversicht/' is sung. 
Deeply moved, his pursuers dropped their 
guns, but, just as the last notes of the tune were 
dying away, another detachment came up, and 
one of its members fired a shot which ended 
the life of the devout Prussian. 

There is heard here also a legend, of the 
time of the Crusades, concerning the Sieben- 
gebergen, — the Seven Mountains, — which 
lie just back of Bonn. 

Stimulated by religious fervour, the over- 
lord of a castle perched upon one of the Seven 
Mountains, enlisted in the army of the Cru- 
saders, and fought gallantly in the very fore- 
front of those who sought to plant the Cross 
upon the walls of the Holy City. After a 
prolonged absence, he returned to find that a 
rival had won the love of his lady, who, to 
escape his wrath, had fled to a convent. 

The usurper of afiPections escaped, but the 
injured husband met near Godesberg, in his 
old age, a youth in whom he thought he recog- 

224 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

nized the likeness of his wife. Questioning 
the boy, he visited the sin of the mother upon 
the child, and slew him on the highroad, on 
the spot where the Hoch Kreuz now stands, 
— a monument which tradition says was 
erected to warn weak wives and faithless 
friends. 

Drachenfels, whose fame to English ears 
has mostly been made by Byron's verses, lies 
not far south of Bonn. Byron's " peasant girls 
with deep blue eyes " are mostly engaged in 
husbandry to-day, instead of poetically and 
leisurely gathering '' early flowers." 

" The castled crag of Drachenfels 
Frowns o'er the wide and winding Rhine," 

and is still one of the tourist sights of the 
Rhine, and as such it must be accorded its 
place. 

Bonn was formerly the residence of the 
Electors of Cologne, after their removal from 
that city in 1268, at which time it was also 
the shelter of Archbishop Englebert, who had 
fled from Cologne. 



225 



XXIV 

GODESBERG AND ROLAXDSECK 
Godesberg 

Within full view of the Seven Mountains, 
on the opposite bank of the Rhine, is Godes- 
berg, — ''a cheerful village with a castle 
which is a splendid ruin," say the guide-books. 

They might go a bit further and recount 
something of its political and religious his- 
tory, although usually they do not, but rush 
the tourist up-river to Coblenz, giving him 
only a sort of panoramic view of this portion 
of the Rhine. 

Originally a castellum romain, the '' cheer- 
ful village," known to the ancients as Ara 
Ubiorum, came under the control, in 1210, 
of the Archbishop Theodoric of Cologne, who 
built a chapel to St. Michael on the ancient 
ruins, which, according to tradition, had en- 
dured from the times of Julian the Apostate. 

226 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

For many centuries there was a chateau here 
which served as the country-house of many 
of the archbishop-electors of the Empire, un- 
til destroyed by a thunderbolt. In 1593 it 
was pillaged by the troops of the Archbishop 
Ernest, and to-day only a great, lone, round 
tower remains intact. 

For the rest it is a fine ruin and a pictur- 
esque one. 

Rolandseck 

But a short distance above Godesberg is Ro- 
landseck; opposite which is the island of 
Nonnenwerth, with which it is associated in 
a famous legend. 

The chivalrous Roland sought the love of 
some fair being, whose beauty and whose vir- 
tues should deserve and retain the heart of so 
brave and gallant a young knight. Nor did 
he look about in vain, for Hilda, the daughter 
of the lord of the Drachenfels, was all that 
dreams had pictured to his youthful fancy 
as worthy of an ardent soul's devotion, and 
soon he was made happy by a confession from 
the maiden that his passion was returned. 
Lost in a dream of first love, the knight for- 
got the world and its struggles, and, in the 
expectation of an early day for his wedding 
227 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

with his mistress, he lived a life of perfect 
joy, — now gazing with Hilda upon the wind- 
ings of the Rhine; now watching her as she 
stooped gracefully to tend the flowers which 
peace allowed to flourish under the walls of 
her father's stronghold. 

But Roland lived in times when love was 
but the bright, transient episode of a life of 
war. The laws of chivalry forbade a true 
knight's neglect of duty, and, in the very week 
in which he was to be wedded, the summons 
came for him to take the field. 

The war was long, and it was three years 
before Roland left the camp. When he 
reached the home of his mistress, he received 
a frightful welcome. The castle was in ruins ; 
its lord was slain; and Hilda, deceived by 
reports of Roland's death, had taken the veil 
in the neighbouring convent of Nonnenwerth! 

Over the bright path of the young knight 
a dark and lasting shadow was cast. His 
early hopes were shattered; the joy of his 
existence had fled; his spirit bent beneath the 
weight of his evil fortune. But his faith and 
constancy were beyond the control of Fate. 
Retiring to his castle of Rolandseck, he made 
himself a seat within a window, from which 
he could look down upon the island of Non- 

22S 




CO/VVE/VT 

A>ON/VE/VWERT<f 



ll^J^'* 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

nenwerth and the convent that held his be- 
loved Hilda. Whether she heard of his re- 
turn tradition does not say; but the rumour 
of such constancy was perhaps wafted through 
the nunnery walls. Be that as it may, it is 
chronicled that, after Roland's watch had been 
for three years prolonged, he heard one eve- 
ning the tones of the bell that tolled for a 
passing soul, and next day the white figures 
of the nuns were seen bearing a sister to her 
last home. It was the funeral of Hilda. 

The isle of Nonnenwerth and its convent 
are still there opposite the grim, gaunt, ruined 
gateway of Rolandseck, a brilliant jewel in 
an antique setting; and, while neither the con- 
ventual buildings nor the ruined chateau show 
any unusual architectural features, they are 
characteristic of the feudal and religious ar- 
chitecture of the middle ages. 

Architects of to-day do not build with the 
same simplicity and grace that they did of 
old, and these little out-of-the-way gems of 
architecture are far more satisfying than are 
similar erections of to-day. 



231 



XXV 

COLOGNE AND ITS CATHEDRAL 

No Stranger ever yet entered Cologne with- 
out going straight to see its mighty Gothic 
cathedral. Three things come to him forcibly, 
— the fact that it was only completed in recent 
years, the great and undecided question as to 
who may have been its architect, and the 
" Legend of the Builder," as the story is 
known. 

There are two legends of the cathedral and 
its builders which no visitor will ever forget. 

The Architect of Cologne 

Mighty was Archbishop Conrad de Hoch- 
steden, for he was lord over the chief city 
of the Rhine, the city of Cologne; but his 
thoughts were troubled, and his heart was 
heavy, for, though his churches were rich 
beyond compare in relics, yet other towns not 
half so large or powerful as his had cathedrals 
whose fame extended over Europe, and whose 

232 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

beauty brought pilgrims to their shrines, profit 
to the ecclesiastics, and business to the towns- 
people. After many sleepless nights, there- 
fore, he determined to add to his city the only 
thing wanting to complete it, and, sending for 
the most famous architect of the time, he com- 
missioned him to draw the plans for a cathe- 
dral of Cologne. 

Now the architect was a clever man, but 
he was more vain than clever. He had a 
vague idea of the magnificence which he de- 
sired to achieve without a clear conception 
of how he was to do it, or without the will 
to make the necessary sacrifices of labour, care, 
and perseverance. He received the commis- 
sion with great gladness, and gloated for some 
days upon the fame which would be his as 
the builder of the structure which the arch- 
bishop desired; but when, after this vision of 
glory, he took his crayons to sketch out the 
design, he was thrown into the deepest de- 
spondency. He drew and drew, and added, 
and erased, and corrected, and began again, 
but still did not succeed. Not a plan could 
he complete. Some were too mean, others 
too extravagant, and others, when done and 
examined, were found to be good, but not 
original. Efforts of memory instead of imagi- 

233 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

nation, their points of excellence were but 
copies of other cathedrals, — a tower from 
one, a spire from another, an aisle from a 
third, and an altar from a fourth; and one 
after another they were cast aside as imperfect 
and useless, until the draughtsman, more than 
half-crazed, felt inclined to end his troubles 
and perplexities by a plunge into the Rhine. 
In this mood of more than half-despair, he 
wandered down to the river's edge, and, seat- 
ing himself upon a stone, began to draw in 
the sand with a measuring rod, which served 
as a walking-stick, the outlines of various parts 
of a church. Ground-plans, towers, finials, 
brackets, windows, columns, appeared one 
after another, traced by the point of his wand ; 
but all, one after another, were erased as un- 
equal and insufficient for the purpose, and 
unworthy to form a part of the design for a 
cathedral of Cologne. Turning around, the 
architect was aware that another person was 
beside him, and, with surprise, the disap- 
pointed draughtsman saw that the stranger 
also was busily making a design. Rapidly 
on the sand he sketched the details of a most 
magnificent building, its towers rising to the 
clouds, its long aisles and lofty choir stretch- 
ing away before the eve of the startled archi- 

234 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

tect, who mentally confessed that it was indeed 
a temple worthy of the Most High. The win- 
dows were enriched by tracery such as artist 
never had before conceived, and the lofty col- 
umns reared their tall length toward a roof 
which seemed to claim kindred with the 
clouds, and to equal the firmament in expanse 
and beauty. But each section of this long- 
sought plan vanished the moment it was seen, 
and, with a complete conviction of its excel- 
lence, the architect was unable to remember 
a single line. 

^^ Your sketch is excellent," said he to the 
unknown ; '' it is what I have thought and 
dreamed of, — what I have sought for and 
wished for, and have not been able to find. 
Give it to me on paper, and I will pay you 
twenty gold pieces." 

"Twenty pieces! ha! ha! twenty gold 
pieces ! " laughed the stranger. " Look here ! " 
and from a doublet that did not seem big 
enough to hold half the money, he drew forth 
a purse that certainly held a thousand. 

The night had closed in, and the architect 
was desperate. '' If money cannot tempt you, 
fear shall force you; " and, springing toward 
the stranger, he plucked a dagger from his 
girdle, and held its point close to the breast 

235 



Cathedrals and CJiurcIies of tlie Rliine 

of the mysterious draughtsman. In a moment 
his wrists were pinioned, as with the grasp 
of a vise, and squeezed until he dropped his 
weapon and shrieked in agony. Falling on 
the sands, he writhed like an eel upon the 
fisherman's hook; but plunged and struggled 
in vain. When nearly fainting, he felt him- 
self thrown helpless upon the very brink of 
the stream. 

" There! revive, and be reasonable. Learn 
that gold and steel have no power over me. 
You want my cathedral, for it would bring 
you honour, fame, and profit; and you can 
have it if you choose.'' 

" How? — tell me how? '' 

" By signing this parchment with your 
blood." 

** Avaunt. fiend!" shrieked the architect; 
^' in the name of the Saviour I bid thee be- 
gone." And so saying, he made the sign of 
the cross: and the Evil One (for it was he) 
was forced to vanish before the holy symbol. 
He had time, however, to mutter: "You'll 
come for the plan at midnight to-morrow." 

The architect staggered home, half-dead 
with contending passions, and muttering: 
" Sell my soul," " To-morrow at midnight,'' 
'' Honour and fame.'' and other words which 

236 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

told the struggle going on within his soul. 
When he reached his lodgings, he met the only 
servant he had going out wrapped in her 
cloak. 

" And where are you going so late? " sa,id 
her surprised master. 

" To a mass for a soul in purgatory," was 
the reply. 

"Oh, horror! horror! no mass will avail 
me. To everlasting torments shall I be 
doomed; " and, hurrying to his room, he cast 
himself down with tears of remorse, irreso- 
lution, and despair. In this state his old 
housekeeper discovered him on her return 
from her holy errand, and, her soul being 
full of charity and kindly religion, she begged 
to know what had caused such grief; and 
spoke of patience in suffering, and pardon by 
repentance. Her words fell upon the disor- 
dered ear of the architect with a heavenly 
comfort; and he told her what had passed. 

''Mercy me!" was her exclamation. 
" Tempted by the fiend himself !— so strongly, 
too!" and, so saying, she left the chamber 
without another word, and hurried off to her 
confessor. 

Now the confessor of Dame Elfrida was 
the friend of the abbot, and the abbot was the 

237 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

constant counsellor of the archbishop, and so 
soon as the housekeeper spoke of the wonder- 
ful plan, he told her he would soon see her 
master, and went at once to his superior. This 
dignitary immediately pictured to himself the 
host of pilgrims that would seek a cathedral 
built with skill from such wonderful sketches, 
and (hoping himself one day to be arch- 
bishop) he hurried off to the bewildered ar- 
chitect. 

He found him still in bed, and listened with 
surprise to the glowing account of the demon's 
plan. 

" And would it be equal to all this? " 

" It would." 

'' Could vou build it? " 

" I could." 

" Would not pilgrims come to worship in 
such a cathedral? " 

" By thousands." 

'^Listen, my son! Go at midnight to the 
appointed spot; take this relic w^ith you;" 
and, so saying, the abbot gave him a bone of 
one of the Eleven Thousand Virgins. '' Agree 
to the terms for the design you have so long 
desired, and when you have got it, and the 
Evil One presents the parchment for your 
signature, show this sacred bone." 

238 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

After long pondering, the priest's advice 
was taken; and, in the gloom of night, the 
architect hurried tremblingly to the place of 
meeting. True to his time, the fiend was there, 
and, with a smile, complimented the architect 
on his punctuality. Drawing from his doublet 
two parchments, he opened one, on which was 
traced the outline of the cathedral, and then 
another written in some mysterious character, 
and having a space left for a signature. 

'^ Let me examine what I am to pay so 
dearly for." 

'' Most certainly," said the demon, with a 
smile, and a bow that would have done honour 
to the court of the emperor. 

Pressing it with one hand to his breast, the 
architect with the other held up the holy bone, 
and exclaimed : " Avaunt, fiend ! In the name 
of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Vir- 
gins of Cologne, I hold thee, Satan, in defi- 
ance; " and he described the sign of the cross 
directly against the devil's face. 

In an instant the smile and the graceful 
civility were gone. With a hideous grin, 
Satan approached the sacred miracle as 
though he would have strangled the possessor; 
and, yelling with a sound that woke half the 
sleepers in Cologne, he skipped round and 

239 



Cathedrals and Churches of tJie Rhine 

round the architect. Still, however, the plan 
was held tightly with one hand, and the relic 
held forward like a swordsman's rapier with 
the other. As the fiend turned, so turned the 
architect; until, bethinking himself that an- 
other prayer would help him, he called loudly 
on St. Ursula. The demon could keep up the 
fight no longer; the leader of the Eleven 
Thousand Virgins was too much for him. 

" None but a confessor could have told you 
how to cheat me,'' he shrieked in a most ter- 
rible voice ; '' but I will be revenged. You 
have a more wonderful and perfect design 
than ever entered the brain of man. You 
w^ant fame, — the priest wants a church and 
pilgrims. Listen! That cathedral shall never 
he finished, and your name shall be forgot- 
ten! " 

As the dreadful words broke upon the ar- 
chitect's ear, the cloak of the Tempter 
stretched out into huge black wings, which 
flapped over the spot like tsvo dark thunder- 
clouds, and with such violence that the winds 
were raised from their slumber, and a storm 
rose upon the waters of the Rhine. Hurrying 
homewards, the relic raised at arm's length 
over his head, the frightened man reached the 
abbot's house in safety. But the ominous sen- 

2.<o 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

tence still rang in his ears, — '' Unfinished and 
for gotten." 

Days, months, years passed by, and the ca- 
thedral, commenced with vigour, was growing 
into form. The architect had long before 
determined that an inscription should be en- 
graved upon a plate of brass shaped like a 
cross, and be fastened upon the front of the 
first tower that reached a good elevation. His 
vanity already anticipated a triumph over the 
Fiend whom he had defrauded. He was 
author of a building which the world could 
not equal, and, in the pride of his heart, de- 
fied all evil chances to deprive him of fame. 
Going to the top of the building to see where 
his name should be placed, he looked over the 
edge of the building to decide if it was lofty 
enough to deserve the honour of the inscrip- 
tion, when the workmen were aware of a black 
cloud which suddenly enveloped them, and 
burst in thunder and hail. Looking around, 
when the cloud had passed away, their master 
was gone! and one of them declared that 
amidst the noise of the explosion he heard 
a wail of agony which seemed to say, '' Unfin- 
ished and forgotten." 

When they descended the tower, the body 
of the architect lay crushed upon the pave- 

241 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

ment. The traveller who beholds the building 
knows of the difficulties which beset its com- 
pletion, and thousands have since then sought 
in vain to learn the name of '' The Architect 
of Cologne," although of late years — though 
with some doubt it is stated — his name and 
fame appear to have been established. 

The Pfaffen Thor 

When Archbishop Conrad of Hochsteden, 
the founder of the cathedral, had been gath- 
ered to his fathers, Engelbrecht of Falkenberg 
reigned over Cologne in his stead; and a fear- 
ful tyrant he became. 

As in the case of the spiritual lords who 
ruled over Liege, the crozier of the arch- 
bishop became a rod of iron to the citizens, 
until at length they were goaded to open re- 
bellion. In their contests for liberty, they 
were led by Hermann Grynn, a townsman 
who had put aside the peaceful pursuit of his 
trade to do battle in the good cause of his na- 
tive city, and to maintain the privileges which 
his fathers had purchased, not only with their 
gold, but with their blood. 

After numerous contests between the burgh- 
ers and their oppressors, the cause of the 

242 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

many was triumphant, and the archbishop 
was glad to agree to terms which he before 
had spurned. But the truce he sought was 
hollow and unfaithful, and he was heard to 
say that, if Hermann Grynn were removed, 
he would be able to take away the privileges 
he had surrendered to the townsmen. 

This treacherous speech was greedily re- 
ceived by two priests, who determined to ad- 
vance their own welfare by the downfall of 
the citizen-patriot. Making the acquaintance 
of Hermann, whose honest nature suspected 
no treachery, they wormed themselves into 
his confidence, and at a fitting opportunity 
invited him to the cathedral to see its hidden 
beauties and great store of riches. Leading 
him from chapel to cloister, and through 
chamber after chamber, they came at length 
to a door which they said contained the rich- 
est sight of all; and one of them, unlocking 
the door, invited the citizen to enter. No 
sooner had he crossed the threshold than the 
thick portal was closed suddenly upon him, 
and, at the same moment, he heard the roar 
of some wild animal, and saw fixed upon him 
two fierce eyes gleaming with hunger and 
savage rage. 

Hermann Grynn was a man for emergen- 
243 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

cies. Rapidly twisting his cloak around his 
left arm, and drawing his short sword, he 
prepared for the attack; nor had he long to 
w^ait. With a growl of triumph, a huge ani- 
mal sprang upon him with open jaws; but 
w^ith admirable coolness the hero received his 
assailant upon the guarded arm, and, whilst 
the brute ground its teeth into the cloak, he 
thrust his sword into its heart. Searching 
around the chamber, he was aware of a win- 
dow concealed by a shutter, and, opening this, 
he looked forth into the streets, where a great 
crowd was collected around a priest, who went 
along telling some tale which seemed to move 
the people to deep grief. As the throng drew 
nearer, he listened eagerly, and heard with 
surprise '' how the good burgess Hermann 
Grynn, the friend of the people, and the well- 
beloved ally of the Church, had without ad- 
vice sought a chamber where a lion was in 
durance, and had fallen a sacrifice to his un- 
happy curiosity." Burning with rage and a 
determination to expose the treachery of the 
priests, he waited till the crowd came beneath 
the window from which he looked; and then, 
dashing the glass into a thousand pieces, he 
attracted attention to the spot, and, leaning 
half out of the opening, displayed his well- 

244 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

known cap in one hand and his bloody sword 
in the other. He was almost too high to be 
heard, but the faint echo of his war-cry was 
enough to convince the people of his identity, 
and with one voice they shouted: ''To the 
rescue!" Forcing their way into the cathe- 
dral, they quickly released their leader, and, 
learning from him the story of cruel treachery, 
the two priests were ferreted from their hid- 
ing-places, and hanged by the neck in the 
room over the body of the dead lion. To this 
day the portal they slammed on Hermann 
Grynn is known as the F faff en Thor, — the 
priest's door, — whilst over the gate of the 
venerable town hall of Cologne may yet be 
seen, graven in stone, the fight of the citizen- 
patriot with the hungry lion of the cathedral. 

These two legends refer solely to the cathe- 
dral. There is, in addition, the rather more 
familiar one of '' St. Ursula and the Eleven 
Thousand Virgins." 

And, besides legends, there is much real 
symbolism that peeps out wherever one turns. 
The skulls of the '' Three Kings " still grin 
from under their crowns in the cathedral, as 
they did when Frederick Barbarossa stormed 
Milan and brought back these relics of the 

245 



Cathedrals and Churches of the RJiine 

three Magi. Beneath the pavement of the 
cathedral lies buried the heart of Marie de 
Medici, who, in her fallen fortunes, died at 
Sternen-Gasse lo, in the house where Peter 
Paul Rubens was born. 

In a rather roundabout way the name of 
one great in letters is associated with Cologne. 
Petrarch came here on his way from Avignon 
to Paris in 1331, and the superb beginnings 
of the new cathedral inspired him with the 
most profound admiration. In a letter which 
he addressed to his friend and protector, Jean 
Colonna, he said : " I have seen in this city 
the most beautiful temple ; yet incomplete, but 
which is truly entitled to rank as a supreme 
work." 

It was a fortunate day for the history of 
the church at Cologne when the Evangelist 
first preached the gospel in the city of Colonia 
Agrippina. In those days the primitive 
church sheltered itself modestly under the 
shadow of the Roman fortress, whereas to-day 
the great cathedral rises, stately and proud, 
high above the fortification of the warlike 
Teuton — if he really be warlike, as the states- 
men of other nations proclaim. 

When Charlemagne fixed his official resi- 
dence at Aix-la-Chapelle, he placed his impe- 

246 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

rial palace in the diocese of Cologne ; the two 
cities together, by reason of their power and 
importance, standing as a symbol of mighti- 
ness which did much to make the great, un- 
wieldy dominion of the Carlovingian Em- 
peror hang together. 

It has been claimed, and there certainly 
seems somiC justification for it, that the general 
plan of the cathedral at Cologne is similar to 
that of Notre Dame d'Amiens ; there is some- 
thing about the general scale and proportions 
that makes them quite akin. Perhaps this is 
due to the particularly daring combination 
of its lines and the general hardiness of its 
plan and outline. These features are certainly 
common to both in a far greater degree than 
are usually found between two such widely 
separated examples. At any rate, it is per- 
haps as safe a conjecture as any, since the hand 
that traced the plan of Cologne is lost in 
doubtful obscurity, to consider that there is 
something more than an imaginary bond be- 
tween the cathedrals of Amiens and Cologne. 

A resemblance still more to be remarked is 
the great height of the choir and nave. This 
is most marked at Amiens and still more so 
at Beauvais. Cologne, as to these dimensions, 
ranks between the two. 

247 



Cathedrals a^td Churches of the Rhine 

There was once a Romanesque cathedral at 
Cologne, but a fire made way with it in 1248. 
Certain facts have come down to us regard- 
ing this earlier building, but they appear 
decidedly contradictory, though undoubtedly 
it was an edifice of the conventional Rhenish 
variety. It is supposed that this original 
cathedral had at least a '' family resemblance " 
to those at Mayence, Worms, and Speyer. 

These three great ecclesiastical works in the 
Rhine valley mark the Hohenstaufen dynasty 
as one of the most prolific in German church- 
building. Although they are not as beautiful 
as one pictures the perfect cathedral of his 
imagination, — at least no more beautiful 
than many other hybrid structures, — they 
show^ an individuality that is peculiarly Rhen- 
ish, far more so than the present cathedral at 
Cologne or any of the smaller churches of the 
region. 

After the fire in 1248 a new cathedral was 
planned as a commensurate shrine in which to 
shelter the relics of the '' Three Wise Men of 
the East," which henceforth were to be known 
as '' The Three Kings of Cologne." From 
this period on, Cologne began to acquire such 
wealth and prominence as to mark the era 



248 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

as the " Golden Age " in the civic and ecclesi- 
astical affairs of the city. 

Abandoning the basilica plan entirely, a 
great Gothic church was undertaken. In its 
way it w^as to rival those Gothic masterpieces 
of France. 

The origin of the plan of the cathedral in 
fact, as well as in legend, is vague. Some have 
considered Archbishop Engelbert, Count of 
Altona and Berg, who was murdered in 1225, 
as the author, but this can hardly have been 
so, unless it were conceived before the basilica 
was burned. 

Assiduous research has been made from 
time to time in an effort to discover the iden- 
tity of the actual designer of the present cathe- 
dral: Archbishops Engelbert and Conrad, 
Albertus Magnus, Meister Gerard, and others 
have all had the honour somewhat doubtfully 
awarded to them and again withdrawn. 

There is a great painting exhibited at 
Frankfort called " Religion Glorified by the 
Arts," by Overbeck, wherein is an ideal por- 
trait of the " Great Unknown of Cologne " 
pictured as the genius of architecture. 

A comparatively recent discovery seems to 
award the honour to Gerard de St. Trond. 
A charter of 1257 makes mention of the fact 

249 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

that the chapter of the cathedral had given 
a house, for services rendered, to one Gerard, 
'^ a stone-cutter," w^ho had directed the work 
of construction; this gift being made some 
years after the foundations were first laid. 

The same architect figures among the bene- 
factors of the hospital of St. Ursula as " the 
master of the works at the cathedral." Per- 
haps, then, the name of Gerard de St. Trond 
deserves to be placed with that of Libergier, 
the designer of Reims, the greatest Gothic 
splendour of France. 

Engelbert's successor, Conrad of Hoch- 
steden, furthered the plans, whoever may have 
been their creator, and work on the new edi- 
fice was begun a few months after the destruc- 
tion of the older one. 

On August 14, 1248, the foundation-stone 
of the new structure was laid, forty-four feet 
below the surface of the ground. 

The portion first erected was the choir, and 
for ages it stood, as it stands in its completed 
form to-day, as perfect an example of the style 
of its period as is extant. 

For seventy years this choir was taking 
form, until it was consecrated on September 
27, 1322. 

The occasion was a great one for Cologne 
250 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

and for the church. The ceremony was at- 
tended by much glitter and pomp, both ecclesi- 
astical and civil. 

No sooner was the choir completed than it 
was embellished as befitted the shrine of the 
three kings. 

Coloured glass, stone, and wood-carving, 
and the art of the gold and jewel smith all 
blended to give a magnificence to the whole 
which was perhaps unapproachable elsewhere 
at the time. 

Then, for a time, enthusiasm and labour 
languished. For nearly two centuries the 
work was pursued by the prelates and archi- 
tects in a most desultory and intermittent 
fashion. 

The choir had been completed, and to the 
westward considerable progress had been 
made, but there was a gaunt ugly gap between. 
It would seem as though there were no inten- 
tion of ever joining the scattered parts, which 
were linked only, by the foundation-stones, 
for the nave and aisles were left merely cov- 
ered with temporary roofs. 

Then the Reformation came, and that boded 
no good for the cathedral. The people looked 
askance at the symbol of such great power in 
the hands of Rome. 

251 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The seventeenth century saw some abortive 
efforts toward completing the structure, but 
in the end all came to nought. 

In the eighteenth century the choir received 
its baptism of the Renaissance, and certain 
incongruous Italian details were added. The 
stone screens which surrounded the choir 
proper were demolished and the painted glass 
of the triforium mysteriously disappeared. 

During the French Revolution, Republican 
troops bivouacked within the walls of Co- 
logne's cathedral, and the chapter fled to 
Westphalia, leaving behind valuable archives 
which were destroyed. 

The very fact of its profanation may have 
been the cause which hastened the restoration 
of the edifice. 

Napoleon himself was deeply moved by the 
state of the '' mine pittoresque/^ and, upon the 
advice of an agent of his government, made a 
somewhat fitful attempt toward putting it in 
order. Thus the impetus for the work of res- 
toration and completion was given. 

After Napoleon had restored the churches 
of Cologne to their rightful guardians, he 
transferred the archbishopric to Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle, and Bertholet, the new bishop, con- 
temptuously told the people of Cologne to 

252 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

beautify their ruin by planting trees on its 
site. 

The neglect to which the choir had fallen 
was shocking, and it took an immediate ex- 
penditure on the part of the citizens of over 
thirty thousand marks to merely repair the 
leaks in its roof. Tom Hood, a supposed 
humourist, but in reality a sad soul, wailed 
over Cologne's cathedral when he saw it in 
the early years of the nineteenth century, and 
called it " a broken promise to God " ; and 
Wordsworth wrote of it thus: 

" Oh ! for the help of angels to complete 
This temple — Angels governed by a plan 
Thus far pursued (how gloriously !) by man." 

A rearrangement of the Catholic sees of 
Germany took place in 1821, and the arch- 
bishopric of Cologne was refounded and 
Count Charles Spiegel zum Desenburg was 
appointed archbishop. 

At this time, also, was undertaken the repair 
and completion of the cathedral, and thus 
what had long been a ruin and an unfinished 
thing was in a fair way to be speedily com- 
pleted. 

The rebuilding of the choir stimulated the 
253 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

desire to carry the entire work to a finish, and 
a sort of second foundation-stone was laid by 
Frederick William IV. of Prussia on Septem- 
ber 4, 1842, when the newly restored choir 
was also reopened. 




In 1848 the nave had sufficiently progressed 
to allow of its being consecrated; which cere- 
mony took place at seven o'clock in the morn- 
ing of August 14th, six hundred years after 
the commencement of the choir. High mass 
was celebrated by the archbishop, in the pres- 

254 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

ence of Archduke John, King Frederick Will- 
iam of Prussia, and a host of other nota- 
bles. 

Within the next twenty years much progress 
was made in the work of completing the south- 
ern nave, the west front — with those enor- 
mous pretentious towers — the transepts, and 
the triforium and clerestory of the nave and 
transepts. 

In 1863 the wall between the fragmentary 
nave and the choir was removed and the struc- 
ture opened from end to end. 

Before 1870 the western towers were spired, 
though the final touches were not given to 
them until quite 1880. Now that they are fin- 
ished, there is an undeniable elegance and 
symmetry which cannot be gainsaid, though 
they were certainly heavily massed in the early 
views one sees of the cathedral in its unfinished 
state. One still remarks the apparent — and 
real — stubbiness of the edifice which, as Fer- 
gusson said, would have been alleviated if the 
overhanging transepts had been omitted. Why 
they should have been omitted it is hard to 
conceive, and the criticism does not seem a 
reasonable one, in spite of the fact that a cer- 
tain sense of length is wanting. 

The nave is undoubtedly very broad, but 
255 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

it has double aisles which satisfactorily ac- 
counts for this. 

Professor Freeman draws a significant con- 
trast between the outline of the cathedrals at 
Cologne and Amiens. 

"Amiens has no outline," says he; mean- 
ing that there is a paucity of the picturesque- 
ness of irregularity in its sky-line. " Only at 
Cologne," he continues, " is this outline seen 
in its perfect state, and Cologne is a French 
church on German soil, just as Westminster 
is a French church on English soil." 

Indeed, among all the great cathedrals it 
is only at Cologne that we find a pair of west- 
ern towers with any kind of dignity and pro- 
portion. 

The west front of Cologne is prett}^ much 
all tower, with the nave rather rudely 
crowded between the two. These towxrs are 
in reality of such vast bulk that they outflank 
the nave considerably, as do their smaller 
counterparts at Wells, though here at Cologne 
the great transepts overflow the width even 
of these great towers of the facade. 

There is a noble simplicity and yet a wealth 
of warmth and feeling in this church, which 
runs the whole gamut of Gothic, from the 
thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries. From 

256 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

this latter date, however, the style did not 
change, but was carried out with that devotion 
to the original plan which should have in- 
spired the imitators of Gothic in our own time 
to have done better than they have. 

The clerestoried choir of Cologne more 
nearly follows the French variety than does 
any other in Germany; indeed no other in 
Germany in any way approaches the dignity 
and harmony of those magnificent chevets 
which the French builders, for a hundred 
years before Cologne, had so proudly reared. 

Metz in a way also reflects the same mo- 
tive, though that cathedral in many other 
respects is French. 

The apside is supported by twenty-eight 
flying buttresses, which again are an echo 
from France; this time of Beauvais; and 
certainly, if they do not excel the French type, 
they at least quite rival it in beauty and grace. 

One enters through a magnificently planned 
vestibule and comes at once, not into darkness, 
but into a subdued and religious atmosphere 
which is quite in keeping with the spirit of 
devotion. 

There are numerous monuments scattered 
about, and there are eight fifteenth-century 
tapestries from the Gobelins' factory. 

257 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The organ-case is unusually ornate and 
dates from 1572. 

The pulpit is not perhaps so elaborate as 
one might expect from the general splendour 
surrounding it, but its sculpture is distinctly 
good. 

In the choir, on the screens above the stalls, 
is a series of restored frescoes which came 
to light after a coating of whitewash had been 
removed. They were admirably restored by 
Steinle in the mid-nineteenth century and are 
very beautiful. The decorations depict scenes 
from the life of the Virgin and are also repro- 
duced in part in the glass of the lady-chapel. 

A modern altar, in the mediaeval style, has 
replaced the seventeenth-century Renaissance 
work, which is manifestly for the better, judg- 
ing from the old engravings that one sees of 
the former unlovely altar. 

The glass throughout is hardly of the ex- 
cellence that one might expect, but the effect 
is undeniably good. A portion of that in the 
Chapel of the Three Kings is a relic of the 
old Romanesque cathedral, while that of the 
north aisle of the nave dates from the time 
of Diirer. 

That of the windows of the Chapel of the 
Three Kings has been called one of the most 

258 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

beautiful pages out of the book of the fifteenth- 
century glass-worker. The subject referred 
to is, of course, '' The Adoration of the Magi." 

The capitals of the columns of the nave and 
choir are superbly foliaged, and add much to 
the general sumptuous appearance of the 
interior. 

Before the Chapel of the Three Kings are 
many tombs ; the most remarkable being that 
which covered the remains of Marie de Med- 
ici, who died in exile at Cologne in 1642. One 
knows that after the death of the crafty Riche- 
lieu the body of the queen was transported to 
St. Denis, there to rest with others of the long 
line of kings and queens there buried, but the 
heart remained at Cologne, and, next to the 
relics of the Three Kings, it is the chief 
'' sight " of interest to inquisitive tourists. 

The casket in which repose the relics of 
the Three Magi is a masterwork of the gold- 
smith's art of the twelfth century. Incrusted 
on its surface were more than fifteen hundred 
precious jewels, although some have disap- 
peared in the course of the ages. Among them 
is a topaz of monstrous size, which excites 
the admiration of all who set eyes upon it. 

In 1794 the canons transported the casket 
to Arnsberg, to Prague, and to Frankfort, 

259 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

their financial difficulties of the time forcing- 
them to sell the crowns with which the skulls 
were adorned. Since then other coronets have 
replaced the first, set with gems and stones 
brought from Bohemia. 

On the 23d July, 1 164, these relics were first 
deposited in the ancient cathedral, from which 
they were subsequently transferred to the new 
edifice amid much ceremony. 

In their first resting-place they were 
guarded only by a simple iron grille up to 
the time when the archbishop Maximilian 
Henry constructed the cedicule which encloses 
them to-day. 

On the pediment of this screen is sculptured 
an '' Adoration of the Magi," by Michel Van 
der Voorst of Antwerp. There are also fig- 
ures of St. Felix and St. Nabor, and two 
female figures bearing the arms of the Metro- 
politan Chapter. 

On the frieze is the following inscription: 

TRIBUS AB ORIENTE REGIBUS 

DEVICTO IN AGNITIONE VERI NUMINIS 

MUNDO 

CAPITULUM METROPOL EREXIT. 

And above the great window, whose grille is 
opened on ceremonial occasions to allow the 

260 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

public a better view of the relics, is graven 
the following: 

CORPORA SANCTORUM RECUBANT HIC 

TERNA MAGORUM 

EX HIS SUBLATUM NIHIL EST ALIBIVE 

LOCATUM. 



Finally one reads the following single line 
placed between the columns at the right and 
left of the relics : 

^^ Et apertis thesauris suis, obtulerunt munera/' 

Behind the reliquary which encloses the 
skulls is a bas-relief in marble representing 
the solemn journey by which the relics were 
first brought from Milan. A bas-relief in 
bronze, richly gilded, represents an " Adora- 
tion." It was the gift of Jacques de Croy, 
Due de Cambrai, in 15 16. The window above 
contains some fine glass of the thirteenth cen- 
tury. 

Before the high altar are four great can- 
delabra of reddish copper, cast at Liege in 
1770. 

The sculptured stalls of wood, which range 
themselves in a double row in the choir, are 

261 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

notable for the profusion of figures of men 
and animals which they show in their carving. 
They are perhaps not comparable with the 
stalls at Amiens and at Antwerp, nor with 
those in Ste. Cecile at Albi in France; but 
they merit, nevertheless, a very high rank for 
excellence, and are very extensive as to size 
and number. 



\lf-^7^ 



Stone-masofts' marks, Cologne Cathedral 

To sum up, the cathedral at Cologne has 
had the good fortune to have been carried out 
in a pure and distinct German form of Gothic 
without the interpolation of any outre disfig- 
urements. It is a sumptuous edifice, perhaps 
the grandest, in general effect, of any church 
in Europe, not even forgetting the splendid 
cathedrals at Reims, Amiens, or Chartres, all 
of which stand out from among their sur- 
roundings in much the same imposing manner 
as does Cologne. 

One recognizes even to-day on the stones of 
Cologne's cathedral certain cryptogramic 
marks which are supposed to be merely the 

262 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

identifying marks of some particular stone- 
mason's labour, and are not, as has been doubt- 
fully advanced from time to time, of any other 
significance whatever. 




263 



XXVI 

THE CHURCHES OF COLOGNE 

The popular interest in Cologne, the an- 
cient Colonia Agrippina of the Romans, and 
the romantic incidents connected with it, are 
so great that one might devote a large volume 
to the city, and then the half of its legend and 
history would not have been told. 

Cologne is one of the most ancient cities of 
Germany. It takes its place beside Treves 
and Mayence as one of the earliest seats of 
Christianity; but the actual date of the estab- 
lishment of the church in Cologne is lost in 
obscurity. 

There were undoubtedly persons professing 
the Christian faith in the colony in the third 
century, and toward the year 312 the Emperor 
Constantine, having embraced the faith him- 
self, gave his protection to its adherents 
throughout his colonies. 

The church of St. Peter at Cologne con- 
tains a painting presented to it by Rubens in 
memory of the fact that he was baptized before 

264 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the altar of this church. Of this picture, a 
" Crucifixion of St. Peter," Sir Joshua Reyn- 
olds wrote: 

'' It was painted a little time before Ru- 
bens's death. The body and head of the saint 
are the only good parts in this picture, which, 
however, is finely coloured and well drawn; 
but the figure bends too suddenly from the 
thighs, which are ill drawn, or, rather, in a 
bad taste of drawing; as is likewise his arm, 
which has a short interrupted outline. The 
action of the malefactors has not that energy 
which he usually gave to his figures. Rubens, 
in his letters to Gildorp, expresses his own 
approbation of this picture, which he says was 
the best he ever painted ; he likewise expresses 
his content and happiness in the subject, as 
being picturesque; this is likewise natural to 
such a mind as that of Rubens, who was per- 
haps too much looking about him for the pic- 
turesque, or something uncommon. A man 
with his head downwards is certainly a more 
extraordinary object than if the head were in 
its natural place. Many parts of this picture 
are so feebly drawn, and with so tame a pencil, 
that I cannot help suspecting that Rubens died 
before he had completed it, and that it was 
finished by some of his scholars." 

265 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

St. Maria in Capitola, one of Cologne's 
famous churches, stands on the site of the 
ancient capital of the Romans. It is one of 
the most perfect examples extant of a triapsed 
church, though the three apses themselves are 
supposed to have been an afterthought added 
in the twelfth century, whereas the nave dates 
from the century before. The nave, too, has 
an interpolation or addition to its original 
form in that a Gothic roof was added some 
three* hundred years after it had first been 
covered with a plain w^ooden ceiling. 

The three apses unfold grandly, with the 
high altar in the most easterly or middle ter- 
mination. 

The general effect of the interior is decid- 
edly high coloured, with much polychromatic 
decoration and painted glass. In the Harden- 
rath chapel are found the most striking of 
these mural decorations, which are interesting 
as illustrating a certain phase of art, if not for 
their supreme excellence. 

St. Pantaleon's claims to be the most an- 
cient church in the city, dating as far back 
as A. D. 980, when it was reared from the stones 
of the Roman bridge which before that time 
stretched across to Deutz. The chapel of the 
Minorites contains the tomb of Duns Scotus, 

266 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

and a horrible tale is told of his entombment 
alive, of his revival in his coffin, his struggle 
to escape, and his body being found afterward 
at the closed door of the sepulchre, with the 
hand eaten off by himself ere he died of 
hunger. 

A peculiarity of Cologne's churches — for 



FOWT. 




S.MARTIN. COLO&AIE. 



it is possessed by the Apostles' Church, St. 
Cunibert's, and St. Andrew's — is the western 
apse. 

Such a member is not unique to Cologne, 
for it exists in the cathedral at Nevers, in 
France, and there are yet other examples in 
Germany; but its use is sufficiently uncommon 
to warrant speculation as to its purpose. 

267 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The Apostles' Church has this feature most 
highly developed. The edifice is a noble pile 
dating from early in the eleventh century, but 
reconstructed two centuries later, to which 
period it really belongs so far as its general 
characteristics are concerned. 

Not all the church architecture of Cologne 
is Gothic; indeed the churches of the Apostles 
and St. Martin each show^ the Lombard influ- 
ence to a marked degree. The three apses, 
and their round arches and galleries, are like 
a bit of Italy transported northward. 

St. Maria in Capitola, founded by the wife 
of Pepin, has the same characteristics, while 
St. Martin has the outline of quite the ideal 
Romanesque church. Its great tower, which 
fills the square between the apses, is certainly 
one of the most beautiful to be seen on a long 
round of European travel. This tower must 
date from the latter years of the twelfth cen- 
tury, and yet, although of a period contem- 
porary with the Gothic of Notre Dame de 
Paris, it is so thoroughly Romanesque that 
one wonders that, in Cologne at least, the style 
ever died out as it did when the great Gothic 
cathedral was conceived. 

St. Andrews is another triapsed church, 
and is considered one of the best and most 

268 




6-R055 5t. AA/^RTI/V" 
COLOGA)E 



-•^•*.. 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

elaborately designed fabrics of the Roman- 
esque type on the Rhine, particularly in re- 
spect to its central tower, the nave, and "the 
west transept. 

There has been much late Gothic rebuild- 
ing, but the chief characteristics of the earlier 
period distinctly predominated. The apses 
are polygonal, but it is thought that they may, 
in earlier times, have been semicircular like 
St. Martin's, St. Mary's, and the Apostles' 
Churches. 

St. Gereon's is an octagonal church similar 
to that of Charlemagne at Aix-la-Chapelle. 
Even more than the latter it has been altered, 
rebuilt, and added to, but the original outline 
is still readily traced in spite of the fact that 
its foundations may have come down from 
the fifth century. It is more difficult, how- 
ever, to follow its evolution in detail than it 
is in the case of Charlemagne's shrine at Aix- 
la-Chapelle. 

The style is distinctly Rhenish, though not 
alone in Germany do such round churches 
exist; one recalls the Templars' Church in 
London and the famous example at Ravenna 
in Italy. 

The great decagon of St Gereon's is covered 
with a domed roof, also divided into ten sec- 

271 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

tions by groins or ribs, which rise gracefully 
from the slender shafts at the angles, meeting 
at the apex in a boss. 

The ancient collegiate buildings which for- 
merly surrounded St. Gereon's have disap- 
peared, but there is yet an extensive structure 
of a more modern date which enfolds the cen- 
tral pile. The easterly apse is low and rec- 
tangular, while the facade of the west is 
flanked by two Romanesque unspired towers. 

St. Gereon's is one of the most curiously 
constructed churches of the middle ages. It 
was founded by the Empress Helene in honour 
of the Theban martyrs, who, to the number 
of three hundred and ninety-five, died for 
their faith, with their captains, Gereon and 
Gregory, toward the end of the third century, 
in the reign of the Emperor Diocletian. 

One enters by a rectangular porch, where 
are disposed some fragments of Roman re- 
mains. The rotunda, or decagon, so reminis- 
cent of Aix-la-Chapelle, dates from a period 
contemporary therewith, so far as its lower 
walls are concerned, but the upper portions 
are of the twelfth century, at least. 

Below the arches are the chapels which sur- 
round the decagon in symmetrical fashion. 
Above is the organ and the adjoining choir 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

walls. In the latter are walled up innumer- 
able skulls of the companions of St. Gereon, 
and in each of the chapels is a great sarcoph- 
agus, also containing the bones of the martyrs. 
Altogether the thought which arises is not 
a pleasant one, no matter how worthy the 
object of preserving such a vast quantity of 
human remains. 

The high altar is quite isolated, and the 
pavement of the choir itself, which is aisleless, 
rises behind it to a height of a dozen or more 
steps, — a frequent occurrence in the Rhine 
churches. 

The apse has an insertion of Gothic win- 
dows, but the eleventh-century Romanesque 
features are still prominent. 

In the choir are a series of flamboyant 
Gothic stalls, above which are monumental 
tablets let into the wall. 

At the entrance of the choir are two colossal 
statues of the martyred saints, then seven oth- 
ers, behind which, at the base of the apside, 
is another altar. 

The tapestries which surround the choir are 
of the '' haut-lisse '' weaving, and represent 
the life history of Joseph. 

Beneath the choir is a vast, antique crypt, 
which contains yet other sarcophagi filled, 

273 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

presumably, with human bones. The pave- 
ment is composed of fragments of antique 
mosaic. 

The Jesuit church at Cologne is one of the 
few Renaissance examples on the Rhine. It 
is, however, most unchurchly, when judged 
by French standards. 

Certainly this German example is highly 
beautiful both in design and execution; but 
it is not churchly, and its great cylindrical col- 
umns, strung together by a gallery, give the 
appearance of a foyer in an opera-house or 
of a modern railway-station, rather than that 
of a place of worship. 

It is all nave; there are no transepts, and 
there is no choir properly speaking, but merely 
a chancel, not very deep and again very un- 
churchly, with tvvo ugly lights on either side, 
and a sort of pagoda-like screen which is de- 
cidedly theatrical. The carving of the pulpit 
and the disposition of all the decoration is 
extremely bizarre, but undeniably excellent 
in execution. 

Cologne is an archbishopric which has for 
suffragan sees, Treves, Miinster, and Pader- 
born. 

The abbeys and churches which were 
erected in Cologne, when the archbishop first 

274 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

took up his residence there in the latter part 
of the eighth century, were numerous and ex- 
ceedingly rich in endowment. So much was 
this so that Cologne was given the name of 
the '' Holy City of the north." 

The Jews of Cologne were a numerous 
body, but a decree of 1425 drove them all from 
the city. In 16 18 a new decree likewise ex- 
pelled the Protestants. Time regulated all 
this, but in those days Cologne clung proudly 
to the position which she had attained as a 
champion of the orthodox religion. 

In all, there were two abbeys, two collegiate 
churches, the cathedral, forty-nine chapels, 
thirty-nine monasteries, two convents for 
women, and many commanderies of the Teu- 
tonic order and the Order of Malta. 

Near Cologne is the fine old Cistercian 
abbey of Altenburg. It contains some very 
ancient coloured glass, perhaps the most beau- 
tiful of its era extant, for it is thought to date 
from between 1270 and 1300, when the art 
first attained any great excellence. 

That which remains to-day shows foliage 
and diaper in great variety, with no figures 
whatever, this being a distinct tenet of the Cis- 
tercian builders, who, in the severity of their 



275 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rliine 

rule, frowned down all decorative effects that 
bordered upon the frivolous. 

These windows at Altenburg, being the best 
examples of their kind, are the distinct artistic 
attraction of the great abbey, which is a dozen 
or more miles distant from Cologne. 

The choir was commenced in i2_55 ^^^ com- 
pleted almost immediately; but the entire 
main fabric was not finished until well on in 
the century following. 




276 



XXVII 

AIX - LA - CHAPELLE 

As Rouen in Normandy was known as " the 
city of the Conqueror," so Aix-la-Chapelle 
became known, at a much earlier date, as " the 
city of Charlemagne." 

Charlemagne was more than a conqueror; 
he was a statesman, with a boundless ambition. 
He founded the German Empire, and 
changed tribes of lawless barbarians into a 
civilized people. At Aix-la-Chapelle he re- 
ceived the embassies of the Caliph of Baghdad 
and of the Saxon Kings of England, and there 
he endeavoured to advance the enlightenment 
of his people by the founding of monasteries 
and by giving very material aid to the monks 
and priests. 

Aix therefore became the scene of some of 
the most interesting episodes in the life and 
career of Charlemagne. 

At the death of his consort, Frastrade, Char- 
lemagne was inconsolable. Even when she 
had been dead for three weeks, the monarch 

277 



Cathedrals and Churches of the RJiine 

would not hear her death spoken of. " She 
did but sleep," he said; and the Emperor 
clung to the chamber of his beloved, and 
would not abate his watchfulness " till Fras- 
trade woke." 

Meantime the affairs of the Empire w^ere 
falling into confusion. Provinces were all but 
revolting, and foreign foes were mustering 
their forces. The Emperor's chief counsellor 
was the Archbishop of Reims. One night — 
though this is more legendary than historical 
— the archbishop was walking by himself 
when he came upon a shape in the moonlight 
which proclaimed itself as follows : '' I am 
the good genius of Charlemagne. I came to 
teach you how to remove the shadow from his 
spirit. Dig, where I stand, a grave and let 
the festering body of Frastrade lie in it. But, 
mark you! Ere you move her body, search 
beneath her tongue and take out what you 
find there." 

The archbishop hurried toward a gro- 
tesquely carved cottage door where lived a 
gravedigger. 

" No silken sleeper so calm as thev 
Who seek a couch in the churchyard clay," 

sang a voice from within. 

278 







CH/^RLEAAAGAIE. 



.B'McMflMUS. 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

In half an hour the grave was begun, and 
in another half-hour the churchman was in 
the chamber of Frastrade, where the Emperor, 
exhausted by his vigil, slept kneeling at the 
bedside. 

The archbishop approached, and, peering 
into the mouth of the corpse, saw beneath the 
tongue a glittering jewel. 

With hasty fingers he seized the token, and^ 
as he removed it, a loud wail startled the 
silence of the death-chamber and aroused the 
king. The spell was broken. 

Throwing but a single glance at the corpse 
of his wife, Charlemagne left the chamber, 
and, even as he went, agreed to the archbish- 
op's arrangements for her burial. 

The grave so secretly made ready was un- 
necessary, however, for the body was borne to 
Mayence, where a tomb raised to the memory 
of Frastrade is still to be seen. 

At the archbishop's desire Charlemagne 
once more took his seat in the Council of State, 
and once more the Empire was put in order. 

The courtiers resented the advent of the 
churchman into the favour of the Emperor, 
who at length, when the court was sitting at 
Aix-la-Chapelle, determined to rid himself of 
the mystic jewel. Choosing a dark night, he 

281 



Cathedrals and Chtirches of tJie Rliine 

sought a deep pool near the centre of a morass 
as being suitable for concealing the gem, 
which he had determined no man should ever 
see. Coming upon the spot, and holding the 
bauble in his hand above the waters, he 
dropped it and saw it sink, as though the pit 
were bottomless. But the brilliancy of the 
gem was inextinguishable. 

Next morning the court was pleased to note 
that the archbishop's influence over the Em- 
peror was quite gone. 

As the Emperor was strolling about the city, 
he fell upon the pool which held the gem. 
There he would sit by the hour, gazing upon 
the still waters, near which he afterward built 
himself a home, known to-day, though in 
ruins, as the castle of Frankenberg. 

A few years after the death of his wife, 
Charlemagne built La Chapelle, that great 
octagonal church which gives the city its 
French name. The tomb of Charlemagne is 
there, inscribed only Carolo Magno. He died 
at Aix-la-Chapelle in 814, and was buried 
with great pomp. Victor Hugo gives Aix- 
la-Chapelle as the place of his birth, which 
is manifestly an error. 

Charlemagne's body was placed in the tomb 
in a sitting posture, and three centuries later 

282 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

was exhumed by Frederick Barbarossa that 
he might sit in the same place, and afterward 
the German Emperors used the seat as a sort 
of throne of state at their coronations. 

The sword and sceptre and all that was 




mortal of the great Charlemagne are gone, 
but his memory still lives in an enduring mon- 
ument in the cathedral. 

The cathedral is wonderful for its antiquary 
and charming to all who come within its spell ; 
furthermore it forms a shrine for hero-wor- 
shippers which should not be neglected. 

283 



Cathedrals and Churches of the RJiine 

At one of the entrances is a bronze wolf, 
placed there to keep in memory a monkish 
legend which passes current at Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle to this day. 

It runs as follows : 

^' In former times the zealous and devout 
inhabitants of Aix-la-Chapelle determined to 
build a cathedral. For six months the clang 
of the hammer and axe resounded with won- 
derful activity, but alas! the money which had 
been supplied by pious Christians for this holy 
w^ork became exhausted, the wages of the 
masons were suspended, and with them their 
desire to hew and hammer, for, after all, men 
were not so very religious in those days as to 
build a temple on credit. 

" Thus it stood, half-finished, resembling a 
falling ruin. Moss, grass, and w^ild parsley 
flourished in the cracks of the walls, screech- 
owls already discovered convenient places for 
their nests, and amorous sparrows hopped 
lovingly about where holy priests should have 
been teaching lessons of chastity. 

''The builders were confounded; they en- 
deavoured to borrow here and there, but no 
rich man could be induced to advance so large 
a sum. The collection from house to house 
fell short. When the magistracy received this 

2 84 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

report, they were out of humour, and looked 
with desponding countenances toward the 
cathedral walls, as fathers look upon the re- 
mains of favourite children. 

" At this moment a stranger of commanding 
figure and something of pride in his voice 
and bearing entered and exclaimed: 'Bon 
Dieu! they say that you are out of spirits. 
Hem! if nothing but money is wanting, you 
may console yourselves, gentlemen. I possess 
mines of gold and silver, and both can and will 
most willingly supply you with a ton of it' 

'' The astounded Senators sat like a row of 
pillars, measuring the stranger from head to 
foot. The burgomaster first found his tongue. 
' Who are you, noble lord,' said he, ' that thus, 
entirely unknown, speak of tons of gold as 
though they were sacks of beans? Tell us 
your name, your rank in this world, and 
whether you are sent from the regions above 
to assist us.' 

'' ' I have not the honour to reside there,' 
replied the stranger, ' and, between ourselves, 
I beg most particularly to be no longer trou- 
bled with questions concerning who and what 
I am. Suffice it to say I have gold plentiful 
as summer hay!' Then, drawing forth a 
leathern pouch, he proceeded: 'This little 

285 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

purse contains the tenth of what I'll give. 
The rest shall soon be forthcoming. Now 
listen, my masters,' continued he, clinking the 
coin, ' all this trumpery is and shall remain 
yours if you promise to give me the first little 
soul that enters the door of the new temple 
when it is consecrated.' 

" The astonished Senators now sprang from 
their seats as if they had been shot up by an 
earthquake, and then rushed pell-mell, and 
fell all of a lump into the farthest corner of 
the room, where they rolled and clung to each 
other like lambs frightened at flashes of light- 
ning. Only one of the party, who had not 
entirely lost his wits, collected his remaining 
senses, and, drawing his head out of the heap, 
uttered boldly, ' Avaunt, thou wicked spirit! ' 

'^ But the stranger, who was no less a person 
than Master Urian, laughed at them. ^ What's 
all this outcry about? ' said he at length; ' is 
my offence so heinous that you are all become 
like children? It is I that may suffer from 
this business, not you. With my hundreds and 
thousands I have not far to run to buy a score 
of souls. From you I ask but one in exchange 
for all my money. What are you picking at 
straws for? One may plainly see you are a 
mere set of humbugs! For the good of the 

286 



I 



Cathedrals and Chitrches of the Rhine 

commonwealth (which high-sounding name 
is often borrowed for all sorts of purposes), 
many a prince would instantly conduct a whole 
army to be butchered, and you refuse one 
single man for that purpose! Fie! I am 
ashamed, O overwise counsellors, to hear you 
reason thus absurdly and citizen-like. What! 
do you think to deprive yourselves of the 
kernel of your people by granting my wish? 
Oh, no, there your wisdom is quite at fault, 
for, depend on it, hypocrites are always the 
earliest church-birds/ 

'' By degrees, as the cunning fiend thus 
spoke, the Senators took courage and whis- 
pered in each other's ear: 'What is the use 
of our resisting? The grim lion will only 
show his teeth once ; if we don't assent, we 
shall infallibly be packed off ourselves. It 
is better, therefore, to quiet him directly.' 

" Scarcely was this sanguinary contract con- 
cluded when a swarm of purses flew into the 
room through the doors and windows, and 
Urian, more civil than before, took leave with- 
out leaving any smell behind. He stopped, 
however, at the door, and called out with a 
grim leer: ' Count it over again, for fear that 
I may have cheated you.' 

" The hellish gold was piously expended in 
287 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

finishing the cathedral, but, nevertheless, when 
the building shone forth in all its splendour, 
the whole town was filled with fear and alarm 
at the sight of it. The fact was that, although 
the Senators had promised by bond and oath 
not to trust the secret to anybody, one of them 
had prated to his wife, and she had made it 
a market-place tale, so that all declared they 
would never set foot within the temple. The 
terrified council now consulted the clergy, but 
the good priests all hung down their heads. 
At last a monk cried out: ^ A thought strikes 
me. The w^olf which has so long ravaged the 
neighbourhood of our town was this morning 
caught alive. This will be a well-merited 
punishment for the destroyer of our flocks; 
let him be cast to the devil in the fiery gulf. 
'Tis possible the arch hell-hound may not rel- 
ish this breakfast, yet nolens volens he must 
swallow it. You promised him certainly a 
soul, but whose was not decidedly specified.' 
" The monk's plan was plausible, and the 
Senate determined to put the cunning trick 
into execution. At length the day of conse- 
cration arrived, and orders were given to 
bring the wolf to the principal entrance of 
the cathedral. So, just as the bells began to 
ring, the trap-door of the cage was pulled 

288 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

open, and the savage beast darted out into the 
nave of the empty church. Master Urian, 
from his lurking-place, beheld this consecra- 
tion offering with the utmost fury. Burning 
with choler at being thus deceived, he raged 
like a tempest and then rushed forth, slam- 
ming the brass gate so violently after him that 
the rings split in two. 

^' This crack, which serves to commemorate 
the priest's victory over the tricks of the devil, 
is still exhibited to the gaping travellers who 
visit the cathedral." 

So much for the legend. But the devil, dis- 
appointed at the turn of affairs in respect to 
the cathedral, had his revenge when Aix, fifty 
years or more ago, first became the centre of 
public gaming-tables, which only lately have 
been deserted by what is known as smart so- 
ciety for other resorts of a similar nature else- 
where. 

There can be no question but that Charle- 
magne's church at Aix, while it is itself a 
rather vivid memory of Ravenna, is the pro- 
totype of much church-building elsewhere. 
The round churches of Germany followed in 
due course, while, in respect to some details, 
the cathedral has been claimed to be the fore- 
runner of the true Gothic. At any rate, there 

289 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

is a reflection of its dome in that which termi- 
nates the centre of the cross of St. Fedele at 
Como. The similarity goes to prove that 
Charlemagne's industry in church-building in 
Italy was as great as his desire of conquest. 

The church at Aix-la-Chapelle was frankly 
designed as the tomb of Charlemagne, and 
that perhaps accounts for the combining of 
the rotunda of a ceremonial edifice with that 
of a basilica intended solely for worship. Part 
of it was undoubtedly the work of the Coma- 
cine builders whom Charlemagne brought 
from Italy, and part is nothing more than an 
importation or adaptation of classical and 
Byzantine adornments. 

Charlemagne's architects studied geography 
and climate well when they erected this link 
between the Romanesque-Lombardic style of 
the south and the Gothic of the north. 

That portion of the present cathedral at 
Aix-la-Chapelle which was built by Charle- 
magne is the octagonal projection toward the 
east. It forms a truly regal mausoleum, and 
for twelve hundred years has well stood the 
march of time. ^ 

It is supposed to have been the most mag- 
nificent church edifice of Charlemagne's era 
throughout all Europe, though it was seriously 

290 




A 



IX - LA - CHAPELLE 
CATHEDRAL 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

injured by an earthquake a few years after 
its completion. 

Later it was plundered by the Normans, 
and it suffered disastrous fires in 1146, 1234, 
1236, and 1 656, having in consequence under- 
gone many material changes. 

Its external features have been considerably 
added to, but the prototype of the round and 
octagonal churches, subsequently erected in 
Germany, is here visible to-day in all its com- 
parative novelty. 

The granite and porphyry columns which 
support the arches giving upon the^ interior 
of the octagon were once taken and carried 
to Paris, but fortunately they were returned 
and again put into position. 

The choir of the church, as it now is, was 
not begun until 1353, and was finished in the 
century following. It is pure Gothic of the 
most approved variety, whereas the octagon 
church is as pure Romanesque; and the two 
components do not blend or mingle in the 
least. 

In the roof of the octagon is a remarkable 
specimen of modern wall and roof decoration, 
which might better have been omitted. 

There is a cloister leading from the north- 
west chapel which has recently been restored. 

291 



Cathedrals and ClntrcJies of the Rliine 

It is a delightful retreat, and has the " stations 
of the cross " displayed upon its inner wall. 

There are numerous rare and valuable relics 
in the cathedral; the chief of which is the 
flagstone, which, bearing the simple words, 
Carolo Magno, is supposed to cover the actual 
burial-place of Charlemagne. Above this is 
a magnificent chandelier, reminiscent of an- 
other in the church at Hildesheim, the gift 
of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. 

Eight chapels surround the octagon, and 
in the Chapel of the Holy Cross is a magnifi- 
cent altar-piece consisting of a crucifix carved 
in wood. 

Most of the kings and queens who were 
crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle presented articles 
of value to the sacristy. The most magnificent 
of these is a sarcophagus in Parian marble 
representing the Rape of Proserpine. 

The marble chair on which Charlemagne 
was found sitting in his tomb, and upon which 
the German emperors were crowned, is yet 
to be seen. 

The relics in the cathedral are divided into 
tvvo classes. In the first class are those which 
are the most sacred; in the second class are 
those of lesser importance. The latter are vis- 
ible at all times ; the former only once in seven 

292 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

years, when they are exposed for a fort- 
night. 

The choir-stalls are set against the walls in 
a curious fashion, and there are chairs instead 
of the usual German benches for the congrega- 
tion. 

The appearance of this celebrated cathedral 
from the outside is most curious, since the 
erections and additions of later centuries have 
not been symmetrical. 

There is a tall, modern spire which is not 
a beautiful addition, and the magnificent oc- 
tagon has had a slate roof added, which like- 
wise is a detraction. 

St. Adelbert's was another ancient church 
of Aix-la-Chapelle, but it has given way to 
a modern edifice bearing the same name, 
though it is in good taste and most pleasing 
in its interior arrangement. 

The Minoriten Kirche is a monkish foun- 
dation of the fourteenth or fifteenth century. 
Its nave and aisles all come under one canopy 
vault, and its aisleless choir is squared off 
abruptly with an enormous carved and painted 
altar-piece of no great excellence. 

It is pleasant to recall here that the council 
of Aix-la-Chapelle made laws, which Charle- 
magne himself encouraged, referring to the 

293 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

treatment of pilgrims by the hospices which 
were so generally established throughout 
Charlemagne's realm in Carlovingian times. 

To the ordinary fine for murder there was 
added sixty soldi more if the person killed 
were a pilgrim to or from a hospice. Any who 
denied food and shelter to a pilgrim was fined 
three soldi. These were the regulations put 
into effect through Charlemagne's dominions 
at the suggestion of Pepin 11. 




294 



XXVIII 

LIEGE 

The natural highway from Antwerp and 
Brussels to the Rhine lies through Liege and 
Aix-la-Chapelle, or Aachen, as the Germans 
call the latter. 

Wordsworth, in his wonderful travel poem, 
wrote of the Meuse, which flows by Liege on 
its way to the Royal Ardennes, in a way which 
should induce many sated travellers to follow 
in his footsteps, and know something of the 
fascinating charm of this most fertile and per- 
haps the most picturesque of all the rivers of 
Europe. 

" What lovelier home could gentle fancy choose ? 
In this the stream, whose cities, heights and plains, 
War's favourite playground, are with crimson stains 
Familiar, as the morn with pearly dews. 

" How sweet the prospect of yon watery glade, 
With its gray locks clustering in pensive shade. 
That, shap'd like old monastic turrets, rise. 
From the smooth meadow ground serene and still," 
295 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

As one journeys on to Liege, Roman influ- 
ences have left many and visible remains. 

Crossing the plain of Neervinden, one en- 
ters the province of the Liegeois, where the 
French were defeated by the Austrians in 
1793, thus releasing Belgium from the Gallic 
yoke. 

At Landen one recalls that it is the town 
of the inception of the family of Charlemagne 
which gave to France her second race of 
kings. 

Liege has been called the Birmingham of 
Continental Europe. It might better be called 
one of the foremost industrial centres of the 
world, for such it is to-day. 

It is beautifully placed in an amphitheatre- 
like valley, and its tall chimneys, its smoke, 
and its grind of wheels bespeak an activity 
and unrest of which the former ages knew 
not. 

Formerly the Liegeois were a turbulent and 
truculent folk, if one is to believe history. 

If, however, one does not care to go back 
to history, he might turn to the pages of 
'' Quentin Durward " and read of the spirit of 
romance which once surrounded Liege and 
its people. 

The famous '' Legend of the Liegeois " re- 
296 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

counts how a working blacksmith found an 
inexhaustible supply of coals for his forge 
through the aid of a gnomish old man. 

Previously the smith's fires had burned low, 
and only the old man's song inspired him to 
forage on the hillside, with the result that the 
future prosperity of the city grew up from 
the accessibility of this inexhaustible coal sup- 
ply. 

The old man's story ran thus: 

" Wine's good in wintry weather. 

Up the hillside near the heather, 

Go and gather the black earth, 

It shall give your fire birth. 
Ill fares the hide when the buckler wants mending, 
111 fares the plough when the coulter wants tending." 

When Liege, through its prosperity, had 
grown to good proportions, its government 
was assigned to a sort of prelate-proprietor. 

These princely prelates were often but lads 
of eighteen or twenty, who became identified 
with the Church, frequently enough, simply 
because of the power it gave them. 

The craftsmen and artisans of the city 
bought many rights from time to time from 
the bishops, and finally wrested the power 
from out of the hands of the Church, much 

297 



Cathedrals and CliurcJies of the Rhine 

as did the burghers of other cities from their 
feudal lords. 

Then followed the struggle, which in Flan- 
ders raged perhaps more bitterly than else- 
where in Europe; the rising, where the 
many fought against the privileged few, and 
much riot and bloodshed was caused on all 
sides. 

Then came first the burgher heroes of 
Liege, w^ho, like their confreres in Ghent and 
Bruges, found in many instances the mart\*r- 
dom of the patriot. 

In the Place St. Lambert formerly stood 
— until 1801, when it was removed after hav- 
ing been damaged by a mob — the former 
cathedral of St. Lambert, which took its name 
from the first bishop of Liege. This ancient 
cathedral was of much grandeur and magnif- 
icence, attributes which the present cathedral 
of St. Paul decidedly lacks. 

It was in this venerable cathedral of St. 
Lambert that Quentin Dur\vard went to hear 
mass, as we learn from Scott's novel, and here 
also, after the famous siege of Liege by 
Louis XL and Charles the Bold, the two 
princes themselves repaired for the same pur- 
pose. St. Lambert of Liege and the three 
Kings of Cologne were, it would appear, the 

29S 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

chief patrons to whom Quentin and his early 
followers made their vows. 

The bishopric was founded by Heraclius in 
968, and a church, of which the present choir 
is a part, was built upon the site of the 
present St. Paul's in the thirteenth century. 
The see was formerly a sufifragan of Cologne, 
and the only bishopric in the Low Countries 
except Tournai and Utrecht. 

The present cathedral is consistently enough 
a Gothic church, but it is not a satisfactory 
example, in spite of its magnificent propor- 
tions. 

Of a cruciform plan, and with a nave which 
was only completed in 1528, it is a poor apol- 
ogy for a great Gothic church, such as we 
know at Metz, Nancy, or even at Brussels. 

Its western tower, satisfactory enough in 
itself, is crowned with a ludicrous spire, which 
dates only from 18 12. 

Since St. Lambert's has disappeared, and 
the present St. Paul's dates only from the 
ante-Revolutionary days, the chief ecclesias- 
tical treasure of the city is the Eglise St. 
Jacques. It was founded in 1014 by the 
Bishop Baudry II., but the Romanesque tower 
to the west is of the century following, and the 



299 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

whole fabric was very much modified in 

1513-38. 

It is a magnificent flamboyant Gothic 

church of quite the first rank, when compared 
with others of its kind elsewhere. 

It has an ample nave and aisles with a 
polygonal choir and a series of radiating chap- 
els which are singularly beautiful. 

The magnificent north portal is an addition 
of the sixteenth century. 

The interior has been called Spanish in its 
motive. Certainly it is not quite like any 
other Gothic forms we know in these parts, 
and does bear some resemblance to that pecul- 
iar variety of Gothic which belongs to 
Spain. 

The choir has some fine glass showing the 
armorial bearings of former patrons of the 
church. 

There is a beautiful carved stone staircase 
and much sculptured stonework in the choir. 

The organ-buffet is ornate, even of its kind, 
— a masterpiece of cabinet-making, — and 
was the work of Andre Severin of Maestricht 
in 1673. 

The left transept, which is some thirty feet 
longer than the right, has a fine painting of 
a ^' Mater Dolorosa," while, opposite, is a 

300 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

stone monument to the founder of the church, 
Baudry II., of Renaissance workmanship. 

St. Jean is another pre-tenth-century foun- 
dation of the Bishop Notger, somewhat after 
the plan of the ^' round church " at Aix-la- 
Chapelle. It was entirely rebuilt, however, 
in the eighteenth century, though the original 
octagon was kept intact. 

At some distance from the city, on a height 
which may be truly called dominating, is the 
church of St. Martin, founded in 962, and 
reconstructed, after the Gothic manner of the 
time, contemporary with St. Jacques. Of 
recent times it has been restored. If any sep- 
aration or division of its parts can be made, 
one concludes that the choir is German, and 
its nave French. 

In 1246 there was held in this church a 
Fete Dieu following upon a vision of Ste. 
Julienne, the abbess of Cornillon near Liege. 
The fete was ordained by Pope Urbain IV., 
who himself had been a canon of the cathedral 
of Liege. 

Ste. Croix was another of Notger's founda- 
tions, in 979, on the site of an ancient cha- 
teau. 

The choir was built toward 1175, and has 
an octagonal tower with a gallery of small 

301 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

columns just under the roof, after the manner 
known as distinctly Rhenish. 

The church exhibits thoroughly that Rhine 
manner of building which made combined use 
of the Gothic and Romanesque, — in bew^il- 
dering fashion, to one who has previously 
known only the comparatively pure types of 
France. 

The nave and its aisles rise to the same 
height, but the apsidal choir is aisleless. 

The general effect of the interior is light 
and graceful, with circular columns in a blue- 
gray stone, which is very beautiful. 

A series of fourteenth or fifteenth century 
^' Stations of the Cross " fill the arches of the 
transepts; quite an unusual arrangement of 
this feature, and one which seems well con- 
sidered. 

St. Barthelemy's is Liege's other great 
church. It is a basilica of five naves and two 
Romanesque towers. It dates in reality from 
the t^velfth century, but has been greatly mod- 
ernized. 

St. Barthelemy's might have been a highly 
interesting example of a Romanesque church 
had it not been desecrated by late Italian de- 
tails. 

St. Barthelemy's has a twelfth-century art 
302 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

treasure in a brazen font, cast in 1 112 by Pa- 
tras, a brass-founder of Dinant on the Meuse. 
Its bowl depicts five baptismal scenes in high 
relief, each accompanied by a descriptive 
legend. Upon the rim of the bowl is the fol- 
lowing legend: 

^-^ Bissenis bobus pastorum forma notatur^ 
^uos et apostolice commendat gratia vite^ 
Officiiq ; gradus quo Jluminis impetus hujus 
Letificat sanctam purgatis civibus urbem" 




303 



XXIX 

DUSSELDORF, NEUSS, AND MLWXHEN- 
GLADBACH 

Diisseldorf 

Among aesthetic people in general, Diissel- 
dorf is revered — or was revered, though the 
time has long since passed — for that style 
of pictorial art known to the world as the 
Diisseldorf School. 

A remarkably good collection of pictures 
remains in its art gallery to remind us of the 
fame of Diisseldorf as an art centre, but to-day 
its art has become '^ old-fashioned," and the 
gay little metropolis has many, if more 
worldly, counter attractions. 

Diisseldorf takes its name from the little 
river Diissel which joins the Rhine at this 
point. 

The French guide-books call Diisseldorf 
the ^^ plus coquettes des hords du R/iin " ; and 
SO it really is, for few tourists go there for its 

304 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

churches alone, though they are by no means 
squalid or inferior. 

The city was the residence of the Counts, 
afterward the Dukes, of Berg — for it was 
made a duchy by the Emperor Wenceslaus — 
from the end of the thirteenth century to the 
beginning of the nineteenth. 

In 1806 Napoleon made it the capital of 
a new Grand Duchy of Berg in favour of 
Joachim Murat. By the treaty of 1815 Diis- 
seldorf fell to Prussia, and became the chief 
town of the regency of Diisseldorf, and the 
seat of a superior court of justice. 

Occupying the site that it does, on the banks 
of a great waterway, the city naturally became 
the centre of an important commerce. 

Diisseldorf is the birthplace of many who 
have borne great names; of the philosopher 
Jacobi and his poet brother; the Baron de 
Hompesch, the last grand master of the Order 
of Malta; Von Ense, the eminent litterateur; 
the poet Heinrich Heine (who died at Paris 
in 1855), and the painters Cornelius, Lenzen, 
and Achembach. 

The principal church edifice is that dedi- 
cated to St. Lambert, the Hofkirche. It has 
a strong and hardy tower, very tall, and sur- 
mounted by a slate-covered spire. The ogival 

305 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

style predominates, and the fabric dates mostly 
from the fourteenth century. Its chief feature 
is its choir, which is far more ample and beau- 
tiful than the nave. The rest of the edifice 
fails to express any very high ideals of church- 
building. 

At the foot of the apside, behind the choir, 
is a mausoleum erected in the seventeenth 
century for the elector, John Wilhelm, who 
died in 1690. 

In the ambulatory of the choir is, on the 
left, a florid Gothic tabernacle, and by the 
second pillar of the nave is a colossal statue 
of St. Christopher. There are many tombs 
of Jacobeans, and of the Dukes of Berg. 

There are also a number of paintings by 
Diisseldorf artists scattered about the church, 
but they have not the qualities exhibited by 
the old Flemish masters, and are hardly 
worthy of remark. 

On the exterior of the southern w^all is af- 
fixed an immense Calvary, which is theatrical 
in the extreme, and is not dignified nor 
churchly. 

The Jesuit church is not remarkable archi- 
tecturally, but there are a number of tombs 
therein of the princes of the house of Neu- 
bourg. 

306 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The ruins of the ancient chateau of Diissel- 
dorf suggest but faintly its former glories 
before it was destroyed by the French bom- 
bardment of the city in the eighteenth century. 

It has been restored, in a way, but with 
little regard for historical traditions, and a 
part of the edifice was made the home of the 
famous Diisseldorf academy of painting, 
founded in 1777 by Charles Theodore and 
reestablished in 1822. It gave birth to a cele- 
brated school of painting, now all but dead. 
Among the famous and well-known names 
connected therewith are: Cornelius, Schadow, 
Lessing, Schirmer, Hildebrand, and Koehler; 
the American, Lentzen; the Norwegians, 
Tiedemann and Gude; the landscape paint- 
ers, Weber and Fay; and the historical paint- 
ers, Knaus, Hiibner, and Scheuren; and 
finally the celebrated engraver, Keller. 

The museum and the gallery of paintings 
are still superb, and form a contribution to the 
history of the art of all ages which would be 
quite incomplete without it. 

There are ten churches in Diisseldorf, and 
a synagogue, but in truth there is not much of 
interest in them all, and the " handsomest city 
of Germany " must rest its fame on something 
more than its appeal to the lover of churches. 

307 



Cathedrals and ChurcJies of tJie Rliine 

Neuss 

There is not much about the compact, 
though rather ungainly, little cit\^ of Neuss to 
interest any but the lover of churches, though 
its history is very ancient, and the develop- 
ment of its patronymic through Xovesium, 
Niusa, and Nova Castra bespeaks volumes for 
the part it has played in the past. 

Its origin dates back to the time of Drusus, 
and it is mentioned by Tacitus as the winter 
quarters of the Roman Army. The cit>^ 
was ravaged by Attila in 451, and by the 
Normans in the ninth century. Emperor 
Philip of Suabia captured it in 1206, and gave 
it to the Archbishop of Cologne. A chapter 
of nobles was founded here in 825, and Count 
Evrard of Cleves and Bertha, his wife, 
erected, in the first years of the thirteenth 
century, its principal church dedicated to St. 
Quirinus. 

This church stands to-day, with its great 
square tower looming bulkily over the house- 
tops, and is reckoned as the protot}'pe of many 
similar structures elsewhere. It has the al- 
most perfect disposition and development of 
the double apse so frequently met with in 
German churches. 

308 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

In general, its architecture is of a heavy 
order, and the whole structure is grim, though 
by no means gaunt nor cold. 




St. Quirinus is of the epoch when the Ro- 
manesque was being replaced nearly every- 
where by the new-coming Gothic. 

309 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

In spite of this, its style is, curiously enough, 
neither one nor the other, nor is it transition, 
though the pointed arch has crept in and often 
eliminated the Romanesque attributes of the 
round-arch style round about. It is manifestly 
not transition, because there was no transition 
here from Romanesque to Gothic. It re- 
mained palpably Romanesque in spite of 
Gothic interpolations. 

In the windows one can but remark the 
indecision which prompted the builders to 
fashion them in such extraordinary squat 
shapes, and they certainly serve their purpose 
of lighting the interior very badly. 

The nave and aisles of St. Quirinus are 
ample, and its spacious manner chore in the 
triforium is like all its fellows in the German 
churches, an adjunct which adds to the general 
effect of size. 

The church dates from 1209, the period 
when the Gothic influence was not only mak- 
ing itself felt over the border, in the domain 
of France and Burgundy, but was already ex- 
tending its influence elsewhere. But here, 
westward even of the borders of the Rhine, 
the round arch lingered on, to the exclusion 
of any very marked Gothic tendency. 

There is an inscription in stone on the south 
310 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

wall of the church which places the date of 
its erection beyond all doubt. It reads thus : 

ANNO . INCARNA. 
DNI . MC.C.V.I.I.I.I. 

PMO . IPERII . AN 
NO . OTTONIS . A 

DOLFO . COLON 

EPO . SOPHIA . A 

BBA . MAGISTER 

WOLBERO . PO 

SUIT . PMU . LAP 

IDE . FUNDAME 
' NTI . HUI . TEM 
PLI . I . DIE . SCI . DI 
ONISII . MAR. 

When a former Count of Cleves founded 
the primitive church here in the ninth century, 
it was a collegiate church attached to the 
abbey of which the mother superior was the 
Abbess Sophia, presumably the same referred 
to in the above inscription. The abbey itself 
was destroyed in 1199 during a civil warfare. 

Though not really a massive structure, the 
church of St. Quirinus is, in every particular, 
of a strength and solidity which rank it as 
^ masterwork of its age. There is nothing 

311 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

weak and attenuated about it, and its transepts 
and apses make up in general effect what it 
lacks in actual area. 

The fagade is imposing, though decidedly 
bizarre when compared with the simple flow- 
ing lines of Gothic; but, on the whole, the 
effect is one of a certain grandeur. 

The aisles are astonishingly tall when com- 
pared with the nave. 

There are various meetings of round-arched 
windows and arcades with those of a pointed 
nature, but there is not the slightest evidence 
of a development or transition from one to 
the other, hence the Gothic strain may be said 
not to exist. 

The general effect of the exterior is poly- 
chromatic, which is not according to the best 
conceptions of ecclesiastical decorations in ar- 
chitecture. A twilight or a moonlight view, 
however, tones it all down in a manner that 
makes the fabric appear quite the most im- 
posing church of its size that one may find 
in these parts. 

The great central tower, reminiscent enough 
of the parish church in England, but not so 
frequent in Germany, and still less so in 
France, forms a great lantern which rises over 
the crossing in a marvellous and exceedingly 

312 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

practical manner, in that it affords about the 
only adequate means of admitting light into 
the interior. 

The triforium of the nave is the chief in- 
terior feature to be remarked, and is most 
spaciously planned. It forms the manner- 
chore before mentioned. 

The clerestory windows are decidedly 
Rhenish in character, resembling, says one 
antiquary, who is a humourist if nothing else, 
an ace of clubs. At any rate, it is a most un- 
usual and inefficient manner of lighting a 
great church-. These windows are practically 
trefoils of most unsymmetrical proportions, 
and are in every way unlovely. 

The choir is raised on a platform, beneath 
which is the crypt. Three flights of steps lead 
to this platform, which gives it a far more 
grand appearance than its actual dimensions 
would otherwise allow. 

The choir-stalls are of the fourteenth cen- 
tury, and are the only mediaeval furnishings 
to be seen in the church to-day. 

The apses contain only moderately effective 
glass. 

The frescoes in the cupola of St. Quirinus, 
which are the work of Cornelius of Diisseldorf 
(about 1811), are most interesting, and are. 

313 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

among the most successful of the great num- 
ber of modern works of their kind to be seen 
in Germany. 

Munchen-Gladbach 

Miinchen-Gladbach is one of those " snug " 
little German towns that one comes across now 
and then when wandering along ofif the beaten 
track. Its streets are trim and clean, and its 
houses likew^ise, with a brilliancy of fresh 
paint which is consistently and proverbially 
Dutch. Beneath one's foot is a sea of cobble- 
stones all worn to a smoothness which argues 
the tramp of countless hordes of feet over cen- 
turies of time, if paving-stones have really 
been invented so long. With all its air of 
prosperity and providence, Miinchen-Glad- 
bach is not a highly interesting town in which 
to linger. 

Its name is compounded of its prefix, mean- 
ing monk's, with its original patronymic, 
Gladbach. The monks of Gladbach were a 
part of the establishment which founded the 
minster church of Gladbach, an old abbey 
or monastic edifice which stands to-day, a 
great transeptless thirteenth-century structure 
with an elevated choir reached from the nave 
by tw^o flights of ten or a dozen steps. 

314 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The crypt is entered from between these 
two flights of steps, and forms all that is left 
to mark the primitive church. 

The round-arched style and Gothic, of a 
sort, intermingle in the nave in bewildering 
fashion until one wonders in what classifica- 
tion it really belongs. The openings from the 
aisles to the nave are pointed, while above is 
an unpierced triforium with a clerestory of 
round-headed arches. 

In the aisles are what Jacobean architects 
called fanlights, a series of peculiarly shaped 
openings like an oddly shaped fan. They are 
distinctly Rhenish; indeed they are not ac- 
knowledged to be found elsewhere, and hence 
may be considered as one of the chief points 
of distinction of this otherwise not remarkably 
appealing church. 

There are no aisles in the choir, which dates 
from the thirteenth century and terminates 
with a multi-sided apse pierced by long lancet 
windows. 

The Stadt Kirche of Gladbach, or the par- 
ish church as it properly takes rank, is still 
a Catholic edifice and shows the advantage of 
having been kept in active use. There is noth- 
ing musty or moss-grown about it, but in every 



315 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

way it is as warmly appealing as the monks' 
church is coldly unattractive. 

There is no marked choir termination, its 
great aisles extending completely to the rear 
with just a suspicion of a rudimentary pentag- 
onal apse to suggest the easterly end. This is 
a common enough arrangement in German 
churches, which more frequently than not, in 
the fourteenth century, the date of this struc- 
ture, possessed nothing but a squared-ofif east 
end, after the English manner of building. 

At the westerly end is a well-planned tower 
distinctly Rhenish — if it were not it would 
be thought heavy — and where the choir is 
supposed to join the nave the roof is sur- 
mounted by a tiny spire, which, in truth, is 
no addition of beauty. 

The interior shows great height, and, if of 
no great architectural splendour, has enough 
mural embellishment and attractive glass to 
stamp it as a livable and lovable edifice for 
religious worship, which is a good deal more 
than most modern church buildings ever ac- 
quire. 

The six bays of the nave show pointed 
arches springing from rounded columns. 
There is an arcaded triforium, and an elab- 
orate series of clerestory windows which show 

316 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 



the geometrical and flamboyant Gothic in its 
perfection. 

The apse is lighted with five windows of 
great height. The glass is a mixture of colour 
and monotone, but the effect is undeniably 
good. 

The chancel is so shallow that the choir 
flows over, as it were, into one bay of the nave, 
while the choir-stalls themselves are placed 
in the aisles. Certainly a most unusual, and 
perhaps a unique, arrangement. 

An altar fronts the west end of either range 
of stalls, and back, at the easterly end of the 
aisles, is found another altar. 

The high altar has a handsome modern 
screen in the form of a gilt triptych, which 
is singularly effective and imposing. 

Beneath the tower, at the westerly end, is 
the baptistery, entrance to which from the 
body of the church is gained through a low, 
pointed arch. 




XXX 

ESSEN AND DORTMUND 
Essen 

Lying just to the eastward of the Rhine are 
Essen and Dortmund. 

The former was once the site of a powerful 
abbey of Benedictine nuns, which was dis- 
solved in 1803. The abbess of Essen was al- 
ways a titled person, and was a member of 
the Westphalian circle of the Imperial Es- 
tates, in which capacity she held a governing 
right over a large tract of country immediately 
surrounding the abbey. 

There are the spires of five churches hidden 
away in the forest of chimneys of the manu- 
factories of Essen which rise skyward from 
the Rhineland plain. It is not a very beautiful 
picture that one sees from across the railway 
viaduct, but a remarkable one, and one that 
has undeniable elements of the picturesque. 

The cathedral at Essen is a conglomerate 
group of buildings of many epochs. The 

-.18 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

church proper consists of a three-aisled nave, 
with the usual choir appendage in what must 
pass for acceptable Gothic. 

There are Romanesque features which date 
back as far as 874, when the original edifice 
was built by Bishop Alfred of Hildesheim. 
The crypt, the transept, and possibly a part 
of the choir foundation, are of the eleventh 
century, and are of Romanesque motive; but 
the Gothic fabric superimposes itself upon 
these early works in the style in vogue in the 
fourteenth century. 

There are evidences of a central octagon, 
like that at Aix-la-Chapelle, and St. Gereon's 
at Cologne, but the fourteenth-century re- 
building has practically covered this up, 
though three of the original faces are left, 
and bear aloft a series of tall Corinthian col- 
umns. 

The nave, for some reason, inexplicable on 
first sight, is low and unimpressive, caused 
doubtless by the grandeur of the supporting 
pillars of the roof and the shallowness of the 
groining above. 

The pillars are single cylinders with curi- 
ously plain capitals. 

The choir rises a few steps above the nave 
pavement, in order to give height to the crypt 

319 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

ambulatory, as is frequently the custom in 
German churches. 

The windows of the south aisle are good 
in their design and glass, which, though mod- 
ern, reflects the Gothic mediaeval spirit far 
better than is usual. 

There is an elevated gallery along the aisle 
walls, which forms a sort of tribune or mdn- 
nerchore. In one of the recesses beneath the 
gallery is a highly coloured sculpture group 
of an ^' Entombment." 

The easterly portion of the cathedral is by 
far the most pleasing, and partakes of the best 
Gothic features, and indeed is far superior to 
the nave. The supporting columns of the 
vaulting have foliaged capitals, while the 
vaulting itself is even more elaborate. 

The aisles, as they approach the choir, are 
rectangular-ended, and extend quite to the end 
of the choir termination, showing a very sin- 
gular cross-section of this portion of the 
church. 

The screen is a modern stone work after the 
Gothic manner. It sits beneath a not unbeau- 
tiful Gothic window, rather richly traceried 
with four lights. The glass of this window 
is modern, but, like that in the nave aisles, 
is excellent. 

320 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The crypt is entered from the south tran- 
sept, and also from the nave by an entrance 
which passes between the steps which rise to 
the choir pavement. 




There is an elaborate seven-branched can- 
dlestick at the juncture of the nave and choir, 
modelled on one known to have existed in 
the Temple at Jerusalem. It is of the con- 
ventional form, but is a rare piece of church 

321 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

furniture in that it dates from 1003, when it 
was presented by the Abbess Matilda, sister 
of the Emperor Otho 11. Since it stands six 
or eight feet in height, this candlestick is a 
notable and conspicuous object. 

Before the steps leading to the crypt is the 
tomb of Bishop Alfred of Hildesheim. The 
crypt is all that a crypt should be, — a dim- 
lighted, solemn chamber of five aisles, the 
pavement of the church above being supported 
on stubby square pillars. It is used also for 
devotional purposes, the altar at the easterly 
end of the central aisle bearing the inscription, 
'' Heilige Maria, Trosterin der Betrubten, 
bitt fur uns/' 

The cloisters of this interesting edifice are, 
in part, of the primitive style of early Gothic, 
while the southern and western sides are an 
approach to the full-blown Gothic of a later 
epoch, with foliaged capitals. 

Dortmund 

Dortmund is the largest town of the prov- 
ince of Westphalia, and possesses four medi- 
aeval churches of more than usual interest. 

St. Reinhold's is the chief, and is a cruci- 
form edifice of more than ordinary propor- 

322 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

tions. It is a picturesque melange of many 
parts. Its western tower is of no style in 
particular, and is hideous, but most curious 
considering its environment. The nave and 
transepts are supposedly of the thirteenth cen- 
tury, but they are certainly not good Gothic 
as we know it elsewhere. 

The choir is of the early fifteenth century, 
and is much more gracefully conceived than 
is any other portion of this nondescript edifice. 

The transepts are square boxlike protuber- 
ances, which link the choir with the nave in 
most unappealing fashion. 

In the interior the most astonishing features 
are the low truncated nave of three bays, the 
grimness of the walls of the entire fabric, — 
excepting the well-lighted and aspiring choir, 
— and the straight-backed pews. 

The clerestory windows of the nave are 
semicircular, but the aisles are lighted by 
Gothic openings. 

There are two altars, one at the choir en- 
trance and the other in the apse, each sur- 
mounted by a triptych. 

The windows of the choir-apse, tall, ample, 
and of admirable framing, are the chief glory 
of this not very beautiful, though interesting, 
church. 

323 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

St. Mary's is a late tw^elfth-century Roman- 
esque structure, without transepts, but pos- 
sessed of a towering apsidal choir. 

The nave is an attenuated affair with no 
triforium, leaving a vast blank wall space, as 
though it wxre intended to have been dec- 
orated. 

Dortmund's " Pfarr Kirche " was a former 
Dominican foundation. Its general propor- 
tions are far greater than those of any other 
of the city's churches. The nave is ample, 
and the great choir of four bays, with spacious, 
lofty windows, is of the same generous pro- 
portions. 

The church dates only from the mid-four- 
teenth century, and its three-bayed nave is 
even later. The aisles of the nave are curi- 
ous in that they are not of similar dimensions. 
That on the street side is separated from the 
nave proper by square piers, with a slender 
shaft running to the vaulting. The other aisle 
is more ample, and has its arched openings 
to the nave composed of four shafts super- 
imposed upon a central cylinder. 

The nave lighting is amply provided for 
by a series of four light windows, bare, how- 
ever, of any glass worthy of remark. 

The south wall, which has no windows, has 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

two large frescoes, a '^ Descent of the Holy 
Ghost " and an " Assumption." There is also 
a series of paintings by two native artists, 
Heinrich and Victor Dunwege. 




325 



XXXI 



EMMERICH, CLEVES, AND XANTEN 



Emmerich and Cleves 

Just below Emmerich, which is the last of 
the German Rhenish cities, the Rhine divides 
itself, and, branching to the north, takes the 
Dutch name of Oud Rijn, which name, with 
the variation Neder Rijn, it retains until it 
reaches the sea. The branch to the west takes 
the name of the Waal and passes on through 
Nymegen, bounding Brabant on the north, 
and enters the sea beyond Dordrecht. 

Emmerich has, in its church of St. Martin, 
a tenth-century church of no great architec- 
tural worth, but charming to contemplate, 
nevertheless. 

Four kilometres away is Cleves, which, 
under the Romans, was known as Clivia and 
attained considerable prominence and pros- 
perity. The Normans sacked it in the ninth 
century, but it was shortly rebuilt, and became 

326 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

the chief town of the County, afterward the 
Duchy, of Cleves. 

Under the Empire the city belonged to 
France. The town's principal church is quite 
attractive, but, beyond the distinction which 
it has in its twin spires, terminating a singu- 
larly long line of roof-top of nave and choir, 
there are no architectural features of note. 



Xanten 

At a little distance from the Rhine, just 
before the frontier of Holland is reached, is 
Xanten, the ancient Ulpia Castra. Near by, 
in the neighbouring village of Mirten, one 
sees the remains of an ancient amphitheatre, 
which denotes a considerable importance for 
the neighbourhood in Roman times. If more 
proof were needed, it will be found in the 
museum at Bonn, where are many Roman an- 
tiquities coming from the neighbourhood. 

Xanten is celebrated for having given birth 
to St. Norbert, the founder of the order of 
Premonstratension monks, and for having 
been the cradle of Siegfried, the hero of the 
" Nibelungen Lied." 

The city was captured by the French in 
1672. 

327 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The collegiate church of Xanten is known 
as St. Victor's, and is truly celebrated for the 
grace and beauty of its early twelfth-century 
Gothic. 

Without transepts or clerestory, it shows in 
its one ample chamber, comprising both nave 
and choir, an exemplification of the art of 
combining the accessories of the Latin-cross 
structures of France with the hall-church idea 
so frequently met with in Germany, and so 
well recognized as a distinct German type. 

This arrangement does not give the church 
the appearance of being in any way confined 
or limited; quite the reverse is the case, and 
the double range of windows in the apse in- 
dicates, at least, a loftiness and hardiness of 
construction which is highly commendable. 

There are, moreover, double aisles to both 
nave and choir w^hich give an ampleness to 
the interior which even its abundance of fur- 
nishings does not overcrowd. 

There are few five-aisled churches such 
as this in Germany, or indeed elsewhere, Co- 
logne being Germany's chief example in this 
style. 

In general, the Gothic of this highly inter- 
esting church is of the best, though it dates 
from various periods. The primitive church, 

328 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 



we know, was a Romanesque structure; but, 
beyond the foundations of the western towers^ 
and possibly other fragmentary works yet hid- 
den, there is nothing but the most acceptable 
Gothic in evidence. 




S.VICT0R.'5 • 

• • . XANTEN 



A distinctly curious feature is the apse-sided 
termination to the aisles, radiating from the 
main apse at an angle of forty-five degrees. 
It is a distinct innovation in the easterly ter- 
mination of a church ; a sort of a compromise 
between the French, English, and German 
styles, and wholly a successful one. 

329 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

In the chancel is a sort of screen before the 
high altar, worked in brass at Maastricht in 
1501. 

The windows contain a great deal of beau- 
tiful old glass, and some other that is by no 
means as good. 

The clerestory windows are elaborately 
traceried, and there is much detail of church 
furnishings, a choir screen, some elaborate 
stalls, a little tapestry, — which looks well and 
is certainly old, — and a modern tiled floor 
which is not offensive. 

As is frequently seen in Germany, the pil- 
lars and shafts have a series of statues super- 
imposed upon them; always a daring thing 
to do, but in this case of far better execution 
and design than is frequently encountered. 
Before the church is a monument in honour 
of Cornelius de Pauw, the friend of the great 
Frederick, a canon of the church and a famous 
spiritual writer. He was born at Amsterdam 
in 1739 and died at Xanten in 1799. 



330 



XXXII 

ARNHEIM, UTRECHT, AND LEYDEN 

Arnheim 

The Rhine in Holland is a mighty river. 
It divides itself into many branches, all of 
which make their way to the sea through that 
country which Butler in the " Hudibras '^ 
calls : 

" A land that draws fifty feet of water, 
In which men live as in the very hold of nature, 
And when the sea does in upon them break, 
And drowns a province, does but spring a leak." 

The Rhine proper, the Oud Rijn and the 
Neder Rijn, enfolds three great ecclesiastical 
centres of other days, Arnheim, Utrecht, and 
Leyden. 

Arnheim is the chief town of the Guelder- 
land, and seats itself proudly on the banks of 
the Neder Rijn just above its juncture with 
the Yssel. Of its fifty-five thousand inhabit- 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

ants, twenty-five thousand are Roman Catho- 
lics, which fact makes it one of the most 
strongly Catholic cities, if not the strongest, 
in the Netherlands. 

Formerly the city was known as the Arena- 
cum of the Romans, and served as the resi- 
dence of the Dukes of the Guelderland up to 
1538. In 1579 it gave adherence to the 
"Union of Utrecht," and in 1672 was taken 
by the French, when it became one of the 
principal fortresses of Holland. To-day the 
fortifications serve the purpose to w^hich they 
are so frequently devoted in the cities and 
towns of Continental Europe, and form a fine 
series of promenades. 

In 1 8 13 the town was taken by the Prussians, 
but in spite of all this changing of hands, it 
remains to-day as distinctly Dutch as any of 
the Low Country cities and towns. Its houses 
are well built of brick and equally well kept, 
and its sidewalks are as cleanly and well cared 
for as the courtyard of a palace. 

To-day the aspect of Arnheim is that of a 
quaint though modern-looking Dutch city. 
It is a favourite place of residence for ^^mes- 
sieurs dii Sucre, ^^ — rich Hollanders and Ori- 
entals from the Dutch East Indies. Alto- 
gether the atmosphere of its streets and cafes 

332 







o 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

is decidedly cosmopolitan and most interest- 
ing. 

The Groote Kerk, built in 1452, rises from 
the market-place with a considerable purity 
of Gothic style. The church was formerly 
dedicated to St. Eusebe. Its tower is a land- 
mark for miles around, and rises to a height 
approximating three hundred feet. It is built 
of brick and is square for the first two tiers, 
flanked with sustaining buttresses, then it 
tapers off into an octagon. It contains a fine 
set of chimes, so frequently an adjunct to the 
churches and municipal belfries of the Low 
Countries. 

The interior presents a great ogival example 
of the best of fourteenth and fifteenth century 
church-building. 

To-day, since the church belongs to the 
Protestants, much that stood for symbolism in 
the Roman Church is wanting, and the pulpit, 
which is an admirable work of art in itself, is 
placed in the middle of the choir surrounded 
by numerous tribunes, or seats in tiers, in quite 
a parliamentary and non-churchly fashion. 

Behind the choir is a monument to Charles 
d'Egmont, Duke of Guelderland, who died 
in 1538, and whose tomb is at Utrecht. As 
a work of art this monument in the Groote 

333 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

Kerk at Arnheim is much more worthy than 
such monuments usually are. 

The duke is represented clothed in armour 
and reclining between six lions, which hold 
aloft his escutcheon. 

The pedestal is ornamented with bas-reliefs 
representing the Holy Family, the twelve 
apostles, St. Christopher, and two other saints. 
On a pillar at the left of the tomb is suspended, 
in a sort of wooden cage, another figure of the 
same prince. The effigy is of painted wood 
and is amazingly lifelike, though smacking 
decidedly of the figures in a waxworks exhi- 
bition. 

The chevet of this great church is quite 
worthy of consideration, though by no means 
as amply endowed as the French variety by 
which one comes to judge all others. 

Altogether, except for the poverty of deeply 
religious symbolism in the interior, of which 
it has doubtless been despoiled since the Cath- 
olic religion has waned in its power here, the 
church is a lovely and lovable example of the 
appealing church edifices which one now and 
then comes across in Continental cities of the 
third rank. 

The Catholic cult occupy the church of St. 
Walburge, a Gothic edifice in brick of the 

334 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

fourteenth century. At the portal are two 
great symmetrical towers which are worthy 
of a far more important edifice. 

The interior is entirely modern as to its 
furnishings and fitments. 

On four pillars of the nave are placed, back 
to back, statues of the evangelists, — a species 
of decorative embellishment which, at all 
times since the fifteenth century, has been 
greatly favoured throughout Germany and 
the Low Countries. In France it is a feature 
but seldom seen, and, among the smaller parish 
churches, has almost its only examples at 
Vetheuil on the Seine below Paris, and at 
Louviers. 

The high altar is modern, as are also the 
black and white marble baptismal fonts. 

The pulpit is quite a grand affair, though 
modern also. Its sounding-board shows a 
figure of Moses holding aloft the tables of 
the law. It is admirably conceived and exe- 
cuted, and is of much artistic merit. 

Arnheim possesses several other religious 
edifices; but, as satisfactory expressions of 
ecclesiastical art or architecture, they are quite 
unworthy. The only one worthy of remark 
— and that only for its unseemliness — is a 
modern Protestant place of worship in the 

335 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

form of a vast rotunda, which in all respects 
resembles a great building enclosing a pan- 
orama. 

Behind the chevet of the Groote Kerk, the 
ancient cathedral, is a fine old-time house of 
the sixteenth century. It is known, somewhat 
sacrilegiously one thinks, as the Maison du 
Diable, and was formerly the residence of a 
famous brigand or highwayman, — if there be 
any subtle distinction between the two. This 
brigand was moreover of the nobility, and was 
known as Martens van Rosum, Duke of the 
Guelderland. In front of the house is a min- 
iature terrace, and, on the walls above, to the 
right, are three monstrous effigies of devils, 
as well as one of a woman. In the centre, 
upon a pillar, is a bust of Van Rosum, and an 
inscription to the effect that the house was 
restored in 1830. To-day it is occupied by 
certain municipal offices. 

Utrecht 

In many respects Utrecht was, in the past, 
the most important city in Holland, not com- 
mercially, but politically. 

To-dav it is simply the capital of the prov- 
ince of Utrecht, the seat of a Catholic arch- 



?>o^ 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

bishop, and of a Jansenist archbishop as 
well. 

Of its population of quite a hundred thou- 
sand souls, one-third, at least, are of the Cath- 
olic profession, which is an astonishing pro- 
portion for a city of Holland. For this rea- 
son, perhaps, the city remains the metropolis 
of the Catholic religion in the Netherlands. 

The environs of the city are exceedingly 
picturesque. The Rhine again divides into 
two branches, the Oud Rijn continuing to the 
North Sea, through Leyden, and the other 
branch, known thenceforth as the Vecht, flow- 
ing into the Zuyder Zee. 

Utrecht is one of the most ancient cities 
of the Netherlands, having been founded 
under Nero by a Roman Senator named An- 
tony, hence it is frequently referred to by his- 
torians as Antonia Civitas. 

Its name in time evolved itself into Tra- 
jectum inferius or vetus, and in the Latin 
nomenclature of the early middle ages, it be- 
came Ultrajectum, or Trajectum Ultricen- 
sium. Under the Franks it was called Wil- 
trecht, which was but a short step to the name 
it now bears. 

King Dagobert here founded the first 
church in Friesland, with St. Willibrod as 

337 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

bishop, and St. Boniface, before he was called 
to Rome, here preached evangelization. 

The city was ruined and devastated in the 
seventh century, but its rebuilding was begun 
in 718 by Clothaire IV. Toward 934 it was 
surrounded by protecting walls by Bishop 
Baldric of Cleves. Utrecht was frequently 
made the residence of the emperors, and 
Charles V. there built the chateau of Vree- 
burg, a species of fortress-chateau that was 
demolished by the burghers of the city at the 
beginning of the war of independence, 1577. 

Adrien Florizoon, the preceptor of Charles 
v., who, at the death of Leo X., occupied the 
pontifical throne in 1522-23 as Adrien VI., 
was born at Utrecht. His house (Paushui- 
zen) on the banks of the canal Nieuwe Gracht, 
now a government building, contains many 
pictures relative to his life and times. 

For a long time the city was only a bishop's 
seat, but in 1559 it was made an archbish- 
opric. 

When, in 630, Dagobert, King of Austrasia, 
founded a chapel here, the religious founda- 
tion of the city began, and as early as in 696 
it became the seat of a bishop. In the ninth 
century the Normans sacked the town, but 
thenceforth the bishops, who were then suf- 

338 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

fragans of Liege, acquired a strength and 
power which assured the city freedom from 
molestation for a long time. 

In the sixteenth century political and relig- 
ious dissension combined to promote a state 
of unrest which was most acute. In 1577 the 
party which had allied itself with the Prince 
of Orange introduced religious reform, and 
in 1579 the seven provinces of Holland formed 
their compact of federation, and the States 
General held their sittings here. 

The Domkerk, or cathedral, originally ded- 
icated to St. Martin, is to-day a Protestant 
church. It was an outgrowth of the primitive 
church founded in 630 by Dagobert I., and 
of an abbey established by St. Willibrod. 

The cathedral of St. Martin was rebuilt, 
after a fire in 1024, by Bishop Adebolde, " in 
the presence of the Emperor Henry II. and 
many other great personages," as the old 
chroniclers have it. In 1257 it was nearly 
entirely rebuilt by the bishop then holding the 
see, Henri of Vianden, but a great storm 
crushed in its nave in 1674, since which time 
the faulty juncture of the various parts has 
been sadly apparent. 

After the destruction of the nave, the choir 
and the transepts formed practically the en- 

339 



Cathedrals a^id Churches of the Rhine 

tire building, with the tower existing merely 
as a dismembered and orphaned feature. 

The tower was commenced in 1331 and 
completed in 1382. It rises from a magnifi- 
cently vaulted base. The lower portion is 
rectangular, but the octagon which forms the 
upper stages and '' pierced to the light of 
day," as the French have it, follows the best 
accepted style of its era. In its way it is, al- 
though quite different, the rival of St. Ouen's 
'' Crown of Normandy " at Rouen. 

There are 453 steps to be mounted if one 
cares to ascend to the platform, 103 metres 
from the ground. One gets the usual bird's- 
eye view, with this difference, that the glance 
of the eye seems to reach out into an inter- 
minable distance, by reason of the general 
flatness of the country. One sees, at any rate, 
quite all of the provinces of South Holland, 
with the Zuyder Zee to the north, and a part 
of Guelderland and North Brabant. The 
tower possesses also a fine set of chimes of 
forty-two bells which is reminiscent of Bel- 
gium; but, unlike those in the famous old 
belfry at Bruges, the chimes on the Dotnkerk 
at Utrecht do not ring out popular marches 
or the airs of popular songs. 

The interior is so crowded with benches, 
340 




UTRECHT 
and Its 
CATHEDRAL 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

similar to what English churchgoing people 
know as pews, that its original aspect is some- 
what changed. Eighteen great pillars hold 
aloft the vaulting of the choir and transepts. 

A notable tomb in black and white marble 
is that of Admiral van Gent (1676), and an- 
other is that of Bishop Georges d'Egmont 
(1549) . In the vault beneath the edifice were 
buried the viscera of Conrad II. and 
Henry V., who died at Utrecht, and whose 
remains, with this exception, were transported 
to Speyer. 

A fine Gothic cloister connects the cathedral 
with the university. This has, in recent years, 
undergone restoration of a most practical and 
devoted kind. It is a marvel of modern archi- 
tectural work. 

St. Peter's is another ancient Roman Catho- 
lic church now devoted to Protestant uses. 

St. John's also comes under this category. 
It is a fine example of a small Gothic church 
of the variety which was best known only in 
Holland and Belgium; much more severe 
than the French species, but interesting withal. 

Within the walls of this last are two tombs 
quite worthy of attention and remark. The 
one against the western wall is that of a cardi- 
nal who died in the fifteenth century, and the 

341 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

other is that of Balthazar Frederick of Stoech. 
The latter, though dating only from the eight- 
eenth century, is charmingly sculptured, and 
has two superb figures of weeping children 
done in marble. 

The Roman Catholic church of St. Cath- 
erine is a Gothic edifice of the third ogival 
period, and was restored in 1880 at the expense 
of a devout Catholic of the city, named Van 
den Brink. 

The walls are decorated in a polychromatic 
scheme, which is not beautiful, though unde- 
niably striking. The jube, by Mengelberg of 
Utrecht, is distinctly good. 

Utrecht possesses in the Aartsbisschoppelyk 
Museum an establishment unique among the 
museums of the world. Particularly it shows 
all branches of religious art, and is of great 
importance to all who study the art and archi- 
tecture of the Netherlands. 

Of the secular establishments one remarks 
the university which adjoins the cathedral. 
It dates from 1636, and has to-day five fac- 
ulties. 

In the palace, constructed for Louis Bona- 
parte during the Napoleonic overflow, is a 
magnificent library of 110,000 volumes and 
1,500 MSS. 

342 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

The ancient academy, the archepiscopal 
palace, the Palais de Justice, the Stadt Huis, 
the Paushuizen (Prefecture), the mint, with 
a rich numismatic collection, and the Asso- 
ciation of Arts and Sciences complete the list 
of the city's notable monuments. 

heyden 

With Leyden the Rhine may be said to take 
its leave of ancient civilization, though it only 
joins the briny waters of the North Sea at 
Katwyck, a dozen kilometres distant, after 
having formed a natural frontier for nearly 
eleven hundred kilometres, from its Alpine 
cradle in the canton of Grisons. 

Anciently Leyden was the Lugdunum Bata- 
vorum of the Romans, and, according to the 
old-time historians, was the most ancient city 
of Holland. Later its name became Leithen, 
from which its present nomenclature is 
evolved. 

Its great importance came with the thir- 
teenth century and endured until the Spanish 
wars. 

The city was besieged by the Spaniards in 
1574, and delivered therefrom by the Prince 
of Orange in the year following. 

343 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

To-day the plan of Leyden forms a regular 
pentagon, with long streets and boulevards, 
all characteristically Dutch, with old-time 
and modern houses alike built with queer 
gabled roofs, giving quite a mediaeval aspect 
to an otherwise lively and up-to-date little 
city. 

The city is traversed from east to west by 
the Oud Rijn, which throws out many arms 
and branches and gives to the place a most 
Venetian appearance. 

One distinctive feature of the topographical 
aspect of Leyden, and one which is universal 
in most of the cities of Holland, are the canals 
which cross and recross the principal streets. 
All is plus propres, as the French have it, and 
the tree-bordered, cobblestoned quays are not 
the least of the town's attractions for the 
stranger. 

Unquestionably the chief architectural 
treasure of Leyden is the Stadt Huis. It is of 
the style which may best be called Dutch, and 
is a reconstruction of 1597. 

In front of the Stadt Huis are a pair of 
gaudily coloured stone lions, which have 
looked down for a matter of three hundred 
years on the Pilgrim Fathers, some of whom 
had gathered and settled here previous to go- 

344 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

ing to the New World, on Oliver Goldsmith, 
on Boswell, on Evelyn, and on many other 
Englishmen who attended the famous uni- 
versity here. 

One learns that these lions were once prop- 
erly coloured beasts, — at least of the conven- 
tional tone of stone sculptured animals, and 
that they were only recently painted a gaudy 
vermilion, which apparently is not a very 
durable colour, as in these days they seem to 
shed and don their coats with surprising fre- 
quency. 

The chief ecclesiastical monuments of Ley- 
den are the church of St. Peter, of the thir- 
teenth to sixteenth century, a vast Latin cross 
of not very good Gothic; and St. Pancras, 
of the thirteenth century, built, curiously 
enough, on the ground-plan of a St. Andrew's 
cross. 

St. Peter's was built in 1221, but in 15 12 
its great tower fell and was replaced by the 
present one, which rises high above the rest 
of the fabric. 

In truth, there is not much of interest to 
be derived from a contemplation of the church 
except the memory of the great names of those 
interred therein, which form a veritable cate- 
gory of those who became famous in matters 

345 



Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine 

ecclesiastic, artistic, and scientific, in Hol- 
land's roll of fame. 

Near St. Peter's is a thirteenth-century edi- 
fice now used as a prison. In olden times it 
served as the residence of the Counts of Hol- 
land, the name '^ Gravenstein " on the ancient 
structure signifying " the house of the count." 

The church of St. Pancras is an ogival edi- 
fice built in 1280. It has no remarkably artis- 
tic attributes, and its chief interest consists in 
the fact that it contains the tomb of Van der 
Werf, the courageous burgomaster, who, in 
1574, so heroically defended the city. He was 
born at Leyden in 1529 and died in 1604. 

Leyden may be called the learned city of 
Holland. In recognition of having withstood 
a siege by the Spaniards of 131 days, the city 
was given the choice between exemption from 
taxation or the foundation of a university, and 
chose the latter. 

The city is the birthplace of many men 
famous in Dutch art, among them Lucas de 
Leyde, Rembrandt, Gerard Dow, G. Metsu, 
J. van Goyen. 

Here also was born the celebrated anabap- 
tist known as John of Leyden. 

THE END. 



Appendix 

Chronological tables and Diagrams 
AIX - LA - CHAPELLE 




Round Church in the IXth 
Century^ Aix-la-Chapelle 

Charlemagne died at Aix-la-Chapelle, 814 

Charlemagne's original chapel founded, Vlllth century 

Damaged by fire, 1146, 1234, 1236, 1656 

Choir begun, 1353 

Choir completed, XlVth century 

Minorite church, XlVth to XVth century 

347 



Appendix 
ANDERNACH 





Foundation of primitive church, Xth century 
St. Genevieve, Xlllth century 
Coloured bas-relief oi portal, XVIth century 
Lahnstein tomb, 1541 

ARNHEIM 

City gave adherence to " Union of Utrecht," 1579 

Taken by the French, 1672 

Taken by the Prussians, 1813 

Groote Kerk founded, 1452 

Main portions of Groote Kerk, XlVth and XVth centuries 

St. Walburge, XlVth century 

Monument of Uuke of Guelderland, XVIth century 

Maison du Diable (restored 1830), XVIth century 



BACHARACH AND BINGEN 

Protestant temple, Bacharach, Xllth century 

Chateau of Archbishops of Mayence at Asmanhausen, Xlllth 

century 
"Mouse Tower," Xlllth century 

348 



Appendix 
BASEL 

Councils of the Church held here, 1061 and 1431 

Cathedral founded by Henry II., loio 

Cathedral dedicated, 1019 

Bridge crossing the Rhine, 1220 

Council-chamber, 1431-44 

Baptismal font, 1465 

North tower (66 metres), 1500 

University founded by bull of Pius II., XVIth century 



BONN 




4) 



Primitive church founded by the mother of Constantine, 319 

Present cathedral choir and crypt, 11 57 

Main fabric, Xllth and Xlllth centuries 

The Electors of Cologne came to reside at Bonn, 1268 

BOPPART 

Hauptkirche built, 1200 (.?) 
Carmeliterkirche built, XVIth century 
Boppart made a ville imp^riale, XlVth century 



CLEVES 

Sacked by the Normans, IXth century 

349 



Appendix 
COBLENZ 



^ 



St. Castor founded by Louis the Pious, 836 
Lower ranges of towers, Xlth century 
Reconciliation of Henry IV. with his sons, 1105 
St. Bernard preached Crusades here, Xllth century 
Bridge crossing the Moselle, 1344 



COLMAR 

St. Martin's foundations, Xlllth century 
St Martin's choir, 131 5 
Virgin of the Roses, XVth century 
Dominican Convent of Unterlinden, 1232 



350 



Appendix 
COLOGNE 





Ancient Cathedral 

Romanesque cathedral destroyed by fire, 1 248 

Foundation-stone of new cathedral laid, 1248 

Charter mentioning St. Trond, 1257 

Choir consecrated, 1322 

Work stagnated, XVth and XVIth centuries 

Work again undertaken, XVIIth century 

Renaissance details added to choir, XVIIIth century 




Present Cathedral 



Napoleon transferred archbishopric to Aix, XlXth century 
See reestablished at Cologne, 1821 
Restoration begun and choir reopened, 1842 

351 



Appendix 



COLOGNE [Continued) 

Reliques of the " Three Kings" first brought from Milan, 

Tapestries in choir, XVth century 

Glass in Chapel of the Three Kings, XVth century 

Organ-case, 1572 

Candelabra of choir, 1770 

Nave consecrated, 1848 

Wall between nave and choir broken out, 1863 

Spires of towers added, 1870 

Spires completed, 1880 

Petrarch visited Cologne, 133 1 

Marie de Medici died at Cologne, 1642 



164 




St. Maria in Capitolia 



St. Cunibert's 



St. Maria in Capitolia (nave), Xlth century 

St. Maria in Capitolia (apses), Xllth century 

St. Pantaleon, 980 

Apostles' Church, XTth century 

St. Gereon"s (primitive church), Vth century 

Jews driven from Cologne, 1425 

Protestants driven from Cologne, 1618 

Abbey of Altenburg (glass), 1 270-1300 

Abbey of Altenburg (choir). 1255 



Appendix 





St. Martin 




Church of the Apostles 






St. Gereon's Crypt, St. Gereon's 

353 



Appendix 
CONSTANCE 



J 



City founded by Emperor Constance, 297 

Ville imperiale, Xth century 

Peace between Barbarossa and Lombardy, 1183 

Cathedral founded, Xlth century 

Bishop Salomon occupied the see, 891-919 

St. Stephen's enlarged by Bishop Salomon, 900 

Further embellished by Bishop Conrad of Altdorf, 935 

Renovated by Bishop Theodoric, 1047-51 

Council-chamber built, 1388 

Roof of nave and aisles (in wood), 1600 

Council concerning the three popes, 141 4-18 

Council condemning John Huss, 1414 

John Huss burned alive, 141 5 

Reconstructed by Bishop Otto III., 1428 

Consecrated to the Lutherites, 1522-48 

Organ and case (restored 18 19 and 1839), 1583 

Catholicism reestablished at Constance, 1550 



DORTMUND 



St. Mary's, Xllth century 

St. Reinhold's nave and transepts, Xlllth century 
St. Reinhold's choir, XVth century 
Pfarrkirche, XlVth century 

354 



Appendix 



EMMERICH 

St. Martin's, Xth century 



ESSEN 

Romanesque details of cathedral, 874 

Crypt, transept, and choir foundation, Xlth century 

Seven-branched candlestick, 1003 

Gothic additions, XlVth century 



FRANKFORT 

First historical mention, 794 

Juden Gasse, 1662 

Cathedral completed, XlVth cen- 
tury 

Tomb of Emperor Gunther of Schwarz- 
burg, 1349 

Tomb of Knight of Sachsenhausen, 
137 1 

Late Gothic western tower (163 feet), 
141 5-1 509 

Tomb of Consul Hirde, 1518 

St. Leonard's, Xlllth century 

St. Catherine's, XVIIth century 

St. Paul's, 1833 



FREIBURG 

City founded by Berthold III., 11 18 
Cathedral founded by the same, 1122 
Nave and restored choir, Xlllth cen- 
tury 
Cathedral finally completed, 1513 
Benedictine Convent of Taennenbach, 

Xllth century 
Cloister of parish church, XlVth cen- 
tury 





Cathedral^ Freiburg 



355 



Appendix 



GODESBERG 

Given to Archbishop of Cologne, 1210 
Chapel of St. Michal, Xlllth century 
Chateau of archbishops pillaged, 1593 



HEIDELBERG 






Conrad of Hohenstaufen, first Count Palatinate, 1148 
Heidelberg made capital of the Palatinate, 1228 

St. Esprit's, XlVth to XVth century 
House of the Chevalier zum Ritter, 1492 
University of Heidelberg founded, 1386 
Luther at the University, 151 5 
Heidelberg invaded by Tilly, 1622 
Library of University given to Pope Leo 
I - Xlth, 1622 

I I St. Peter's sacked by Melac, 1693 

L^ vJ Library of the Palatine sent from Rome 

to Paris, 1795 
library returned to Heidelberg, 18 15 
Castle built by the Elector, Robert I., 

XlVth century 
Additions by Otto Henry, 1556-59 
Later additions by Frederick IV., XVIth 

century 
Castle ravaged by Spaniards, 1622 
Again rebuilt and dismembered by light- 
ning, 1764 
Great tuns, 1535, 1728, 1751 



C. . ) 



Abbey of Laach 



LAACH 

Abbey founded by Henry II., 1093 
Pillaged by revolutionists, XVIIIth cen- 
tury 



35<5 



Appendix 
LEYDEN 



St. Pancras, 1280 

St. Peter's, Xlllth to XVIth century 

St. Peter's tower fell, 151 2 

Old Palace of Counts of Holland (1280), Xlllth century 

Tomb of Van der Werf in St. Pancras, XVIth century 

City besieged by Spaniards, 1574 

Stadt Huis, 1597 

LIEGE 

St. Jean, Xth century 

St. Jean, choir added, Xlllth century 

St. Jean, tower added, Xlllth century 

St. Jean, cloister, XlVth century 

St. Martin founded, 962 

Bishopric founded by Heraclius, 968 

Ste. Croix founded by Bishop Notger, 979 

Ste. Croix, choir added, 1175 

Ste. Croix, Stations of the Cross, XVth century 

St. Jacques's founded by Bishop Baudry II., 1014 

St. Jacques's Romanesque tower, Xllth century 

St. Jacques's rebuilt, 1513-38 

St. Jacques's organ buffet, 1673 

St. Barthelemy's font, 11 12 

Fete Dieu ordained by Urbain IV., 1246 

St. Lambert's destroyed, 1801 

LIMBURG 

Primitive church, 909 
Cathedral of St. George, Xllth century 
Baptismal fonts, Xllth century 
Baldaquin of Pyx, XVth century 
Tomb of Daniel of Mutersbach, 1475 

MANNHEIM 

City founded, 765 

Elector Frederick built his chateau, XVIIth century 

City walls built, 1606 

MAYENCE 

Bishops of the Frankish kingdom convoked by Dagobert, 636 

Bishop Sigibert built the city walls, 718 

Council met here on order of Charlemagne, 813 

Archbishop Willigis built the cathedral and St. Stephen's, 975-1011 

357 



Appendix 



Cathedral completed under Archbishop Bardon, 1037 

Pope Leo IX. held a council here, 1049 

Cathedral burned, 1087 

Philip of Suabia crowned here, 1198 

Transept and western choir rebuilt, Xllth century 

Chapter-house, Xllth century 



cr-n-D 




/\, 



Cathedral, Mayeiice 



Gothard Chapel^ Mayence 



Cathedral newly consecrated, 1239 

Cloisters, Xlllth century 

Chapels, Xlllih and XlVth centuries 

Western end of roof took fire, 1793 

Napoleon ordered it restored, 1803 

Remains of Frastrada (d. 794) removed thither, 1552 

Fountain in Speise-Markt, XVIth century 



METZ 

City attacked by the Huns, Vth century 

Original foundation of Eglise St. Pierre, Vllth century 

Reconstructed, Xth and XVth centuries 

St. Stephen's (cathedral), Xlllth century 

Glass of clerestory of St. Stephen's, XVIth century 

St. Martin's, Xlllth century 

St. Vincent's, Xlllth century 

Montmorenci captured the city, 1552 

Abbey of St. Arnulphe destroyed, XVIth century 

Citadel built, 1556-62 



358 



Appendix 
MUNCHEN - GLADBACH 




Abbey church, Xlllth century 
Stadt Kirche,<XIVth century 



NEUSS 

City ravaged by Attila, 451 
Chapter of Nobles founded, 825 
By the Normans, IXth century 
Primitive church founded, IXth century 
Collegiate church destroyed, 1199 
Under patronage of Archbishop of 

Cologne, 1206 
St. Quirinus founded, 1209 
Choir-stalls, St. Quirinus, XlVth cen- 
tury 
Cupola frescoes, St. Quirinus, XlXth 
century 




359 



Appendix 
SCHAFFHAUSEN 

Abbey founded by Count Nellenburg, 1052 

Cathedral, Xllth century 

Convent of St. Hilaire at Sackingen, Vlth century 




Schaffhausen 



Speyer 



SPEYER 



Foundation of cathedral laid, 1030 

Practically completed, 1060 

Destroyed by fire, 1159 

Rebuilt, 1 170 

Other fires, 1 189-1450 

Cloister built, 1437 

Burned in the religious wars, XVIth century 

Restored, XVII Ith century 

Nave restored by Bishop August, 1772 

Later restorations, 1823 

360 



Appendix 
STOLZENFELS 

Castle founded by Arnold of Treves, Xlllth century 
Nearly destroyed by the French, 1688 
Given to the Prince Royal of Prussia, 1825 



STRASBURG 

Primitive church founded by Clovis, 504 

Destroyed by fire, 873 

Pillaged and fired anew by Duke Hermann, 1002 

Present cathedral begun, 1277 

Great portal begun by Ervin von Steinbach, 1277 

Ervin von Steinbach died, 13 18 

First Strasburg clock, 1352 

Second Strasburg clock, 1571-74 

Second Strasburg clock restored, 1669 and 1732 

Second Strasburg clock ceased its 
functions, 1790 

Present Strasburg clock inaugurated, 
1842 

Choir, St. Bartholomew's, 1308-45 

*' Danse des Morts " (St. Bartholo- 
mew's), XVth century 

Maison de I'Oeuvre Notre Dame, 1581 

Episcopal palace built by Cardinal de 
Rohan, 1741 

Height of spire of cathedrals : Stras- 
burg, 440 feet; Cologne, 482 feet; 
Rouen, 458 feet ; Paris, 200 feet 



TREVES 

Primitive church founded, 327 

See became an archbishopric, Xllth 

century 
Archbishops removed to Coblenz, 

XlVth century 
Holy robe of Treves brought from 

Holy Land, IVth century 
Tomb of Cardinal Ivo, Xllth century 
Notre Dame built, 1227-43 Treves 



rv 



361 



Appendix 



UTRECHT 

Primitive church founded by Dagobert, 630 

City devastated, Vllth century 

City rebuilt by Clothaire IV., 718 

Enlarged by Bishop Baldric of Cleves, 934 

Adrian Florizoon of Utrecht became Pope Adrien VI., 1522 

See made an archbishopric, 1559 

Religious reform advocated by Prince of Orange, 1577 

States General sat at Utrecht, 1579 

Cathedral of St. Martin rebuilt from primitive church, 1024 

Cathedral of St. Martin again rebuilt, 1257 

Tower, 1331-82 

Nave damaged, 1674 



WORMS 

Concordat between Pope Calixtus II. 

and Henry V., 1122 
Diet of Worms declared Luther a 

heretic, 1321 
Cathedral begun by Bishop Bouchard, 

996 
Later additions and rebuilding since, 

1185 
City besieged but cathedral unharmed, 

1689 
St. Martin, Xllth century 
Notre Dame, Xlllth to XlVth century 
Synagogue, Xlth century 
Jewish colony at Worms, 550 B.C. 
Abbey of Lorsch founded, 767-774 
Primitive church founded at Lorsch, 

285 
Lorsch incorporated with Archbishopric 

of Mayence, 1232 
Abbey rebuilt, iioo 






St. Martin., Worms 



XANTEN 



Captured by the French, 1672 

Collegiate church of St. Victor, Xllth century 

Chancel screen, 1501 

Monument to Cornelius de Pauw, XVIIIth century 

362 



INDEX 



Abbey of Altenburg, 42, 64, 

275-276. 
Abbey of Laach, 63, i93-i94, 

355- 
Abbey of Lorsch, I53-I54- 
Abbey of Pfeffers, Ragatz, 21. 
Abbey of St. Arnulphe, Metz, 

117. 
Academy of Painting, Diis- 

seldorf, 307. 
Aix-la-Chapelle, 32, 38, 277- 

294. 
Aix-la-Chapelle, Cathedral of, 

43, 44, 50, 56, 6z, 65, 289- 

293, 347- 
Aix-la-Chapelle, Church of 

St. Adelbert, 293. 
Aix-la-Chapelle, Minoriten 

Kirche, 293. 
Altenburg, Abbey of, 42, 64, 

275-276. 
Amiens, Cathedral of, v., 4, 

256, 262. 
Andernach, 9, 14, 199-204. 
Andernach, Church of St. 

Genevieve, 201-204, 348. 
Archbishop Bardon, 164. 
Arnheim, 8, 25, 331-336. 
Arnheim, Groote Kerk, 333- 

334, 348. 
Arnheim, Church of St. Wal- 

burge, 334-335- 
Arnheim, Maison du Diable, 

336. 
Attila, 15, 98, 149. 



Bacharach, 172-174. 
Bacharach, Church 
Werner, 172. 



of St. 



Bacharach, Protestant Tem- 
ple, 173, 348. 
Bacharach, Church of St. 

Peter, 59, 173. 
Barbarossa, 15, 38, 69, 245, 

283. 
Basel, 9, 15, 16, 17, 22, 83- 

90. 
Basel, University of, 82. 
Basel, Cathedral of, 86-80, 

348. 
Basel, the Pfalz, 89. 
Basel, Museum at, 90. 
Bingen, 17, 177. 
Bingen, " Mouse Tower," 177, 

179, 348. 
Bishop Alfred of Hildes- 

heim, 319, 322. 
Bishop August of Limburg, 

131- 
Bishop Baudry II., 299, 301. 
Bishop Hatto, 177. 
Bishop Otto III., 74, 75- 
Bishop Reinhold, 130-131. 
Bishop Salomon III., 74. 
Bishop Siegfried, 128. 
Bishop Theodoric, 74. 
Blondel, 24, 25. 
Bonn, 9, 17, 220-225. 
Bonn, Cathedral of, 59, 150, 

220-223, 349- 
Boppart, 191-193. 
Boppart, Hauptkirche, 191- 

192, 340. 
Boppart, Convent of Marien- 

burg, 192. 
Boppart, Carmelite Church, 



192. 
Boppart, 



Templehof, 192. 



2>^Z 



Index 



Bridge at Coblenz, 190. 
Bromser, Hans, 179-180. 
Briinhilda, 149, 151. 



Caesar, 13, 14, 15. 
Carlsruhe, 134, 136. 
Carlsruhe, Churches of, 135. 
Carmehte Church, Boppart, 

192. 
Castle of Heidelberg, 3, 142, 

144-145. 
Cathedral of Charlemagne, 

Aix-la-Chapelle, 43, 44, 50, 

56, 63, 65, 289-293, 347- 
Cathedral of Amiens, v., 4, 

256-262. 
Cathedral of Basel, 86-89, 

349- 
Cathedral of Bonn, 59, 150, 

220-223, 349. 
Cathedral of Cologne, v., 3, 

4, 9, 43, 46, 64, 232-263, 351. 
Cathedral of Constance, 69, 

74, 354- 
Cathedral of Essen, 63, 65, 

319-322, 355. 
Cathedral of Frankfort, 156- 

158, Zl> 
Cathedral of Freiburg, 93-95, 

355- 
Cathedral of St. Lambert, 

Liege, 298, 357- 
Cathedral of St. Paul, Liege, 

299, 357- 
Cathedral of Limburg, 3, (fj, 

182-186, 357. 
Cathedral of Lincoln, v. 
Cathedral of Mayence, 48, 49, 

54, 60, 64, 150, 162, 164- 

170, 357. 
Cathedral of St. Stephen, 

Metz, v., 114, 120-124, 358. 
Cathedral at Paderborn, 61. 
Cathedral of Paris, v., 3. 
Cathedral of Reims, v., 4. 
Cathedral of Rouen, 4. 
Cathedral of Schaffhausen, 

81, 360. 



Cathedral of Speyer, 4, 31, 

57, 60, 128-133, 360. 
Cathedral of Strasburg, v., 

47, 64, 97, 99-109, 361. 
Cathedral of Tournai, 3, 43. 
Cathedral of Treves, 56, 208, 

214-217, 361. 
Cathedral of St. Martin, 

Utrecht, 339-341, 362. 
Cathedral of Worms, 60, 150- 

151, 362. 
Cathedral of York, v. 
Catholic Church of Wies- 
baden, 139-141. 
Chapel of the Three Kings, 

Cologne Cathedral, 258- 

261. 
Charlemagne, 13, 14, 15, 30, 

ZZ, 2>7, 50, 99, 149, 153, 155, 

178, 246, 247, 277-283, 289, 

293, 294. 
Charles V., 149, 199. 
Chateau of Mannheim, 147. 
Churches of Carlsruhe, 135. 
Church of Cleves, 327, 349. 
Churches of Darmstadt, 137- 

138. 
Church of Deventer, 39. 
Church of Mannheim, 148, 

357. 

Church of Notre Dame, 
Treves, 214, 217-218, 361. 

Church of Notre Dame, 
Worms, 151. 

Church of Rudesheim, 178. 

Church of the Apostles, 
Cologne, 267. 

Church of the Jesuits, Co- 
logne, 274. 

Church of the Jesuits, Diis- 
seldorf, 306. 

Church of the Jesuits, 
Treves, 218. 

Church of St. Adelbert, Aix- 
la-Chapelle, 293. 

Church of bt. Andrew, 
Cologne, 267, 268. 

Church of St. Antoine, 
Treves, 218. 



I 



364 



Index 



Church of St. Barthelemy, 

Liege, 302-303, 357. 
Church of St. Bartholomew, 

Strasburg, no. 
Church of St, Castor, 

Coblenz, 38, 59, 189-190, 

350. 
Church of St. Catherine, 

Frankfort, 159, 355- 
Church of St. Clement, Metz, 

125-126. 
Church of Ste. Croix, Liege, 

301-302, 357. 
Church of St. Esprit, Heidel- 
berg, 144, 356. 
Church of St. Eucharius, 

Metz, 125. 
Church of St. Gangolphe, 

Treves, 218. 
Church of St. Genevieve, 

Andernach, 201-204, 348. 
Church of St. Gereon, Co- 
logne, 44, 57, 63, 217, 271- 

274, 352. 
Church of St. Gervais, 

Treves, 218. 
Church of St. Jean, Liege, 

301, 357- 
Church of St. John, Nieder- 

lahnstein, 191. 
Church of St. John, Schaff- 

hausen, 81, 360. 
Church of St. John, Utrecht, 

341-342, Z(i2. 
Church of St. Leonard, 

Frankfort, 159, 355. 
Church of St. Maria in Capi- 

tola. Colognes 60, d},, 266, 

268, 352. 
Church of St. Martin, Coire, 

20-21. 
Church of St. Martin, Col- 
mar, 91-92, 350. 
Church of St. Martin, 

Cologne, 59, 60, 268. 
Church of St. Martin, Em- 
merich, 326, 355. 
Church of St. Martin, Liege, 

301, 357. 



Church of St. Martin, Metz, 
124, 358. 

Church of St. Martin, 
Worms, 151, 362. 

Church of St. Mary, Dort- 
mund, 324, 354. 

Church of St. Maximin, 
Metz, 124. 

Church of St. Nicholas, 
Frankfort, 158. 

Church of St. Pancras, Ley- 
den, 345, 346, 457. 

Church of St. Pantheon, 
Cologne, 266. 

Church of St. Paul, Frank- 
fort, 159, 355- 

Church of St Paul, Treves, 
218. 

Church of St. Peter, Bach- 
arach, 59, 173, 348. 

Church of St. Peter, Cologne, 
264. 

Church of St. Peter, Heidel- 
berg, 143. 

Church of St. Peter, Leyden, 
345, 346, 35-7. 

Church of St. Pierre, Metz, 
118. 

Church of St. Quirinus, 
Neuss, 6, 38, 56, 59, 60, 204, 

308-313, 359. 

Church of St. Reinhold, 
Dortmund, 322-323, 354. 

Church of St. Sagelone, 
Metz, 125. 

Church of St. Stephen, Con- 
stance, 74-77, 354- 

Church of St. Thomas, Stras- 
burg, III. 

Church of St. Victor, Xanten, 
328-330, 362. 

Church of St. Vincent, Metz, 
124, 358. 

Church of St. Walburge, 
Arnheim, 334-335, 348. 

Church of St. Werner, Bach- 
arach, 172. 

Geves, 326, 327. 

Cleves, Church of, 327, 349. 



365 



Index 



Qock of Strasburg, 105-108, 
361. 

Clevis, 15, 99, 149. 

Coblenz, 9, 14, 187-191. 

Coblenz, Church of St. Cas- 
tor, 38, 59, 189-190, 350. 

Coblenz, Bridge at, 190. 

Coire, 20. 

Coire, Church of St. Mar- 
tin, 20-21. 

Colmar, 90, 92. 

Colmar, Church of St. ^lar- 
tin, 91-92. 350. 

Colmar, Unterlinden, 92. 

Cologne, vii., 3, 6, 9, 11-12, 13, 
15, 25, 32, 33, 34, 232-276. 

Cologne. Cathedral of. v.. 3. 
4, 9, 43. 46, 64, 2Z2-26Z, 351. 

Cologne, Church of St. Peter, 
264. 

Cologne, Church of St. An- 
drew, 3, 267, 268. 

Cologne, Church of St. Ge- 
reon, 44, 57, 63, 217, 271- 
274, 352. 

Cologne, Church of St. Mar- 
tin, 59, 60, 268. 

Cologne, Church of St. Maria 
in Capitola, iii., 60, 63, 266, 
268, 352. 

Cologne, Church of St. Pan- 
taleon, 266, 352. 

Cologne, Church of the Apos- 
tles, 267. 

Cologne, Church of the 
Jesuits, 274. 

Comacine Masters, 37. 

Conrad II., 127. 

Conrad III., 133. 

Constance, vii.. 15, 68-78. 

Constance, Cathedral of, 69- 
74, 354- 

Constance, Church of St. 
Stephen, 74, j-j, 354. 

Constance, Council of, 'j']. 

Constance. Lake of, 17, 18. 
22, y-j, 78. 

Convent of Marienburg, Bop- 
part, 192. 



Cornelius of Diisseldorf, 313. 
Council of Constance, 'jt. 

Dagobert I., 127, 149. 337, 

338. 
Darmstadt, 136-138. 
Darmstadt, Churches of, 137- 

138. 
Dasypodius, Conrad. 108. 
D'Egmont, Charles, zzz, 334- 
De Pauw, Cornelius, 330. 
Deventer, Church of, 39. 
Diet of Worms, 149. 
Disentis, Abbey of, 19. 
Dortmund, z^2-2)2i. 
Dortmund, Church of St 

Reinhold, 2>22-i2Z, 354. 
Dortmund, Church of St. 

Mary, 324, 354. 
Dortmund, Pfarr Kirche, 324- 

325- 

Dow. Gerard, 346. 

Drachenfels, 225. 

Drusus, 162, 199. 220. 

Dunwege, Heinrich and Vic- 
tor, 325. 

Diisseldorf, 6, 9, 15, 17, 25, 

304-307. 
Diisseldorf, Academy of 

Painting, 307. 
Diisseldorf, Church of the 

Jesuits, 306. 
Diisseldorf, the Hofkirche, 

305-306. 

figlise St. Jacques, Liege, 

299-301. 
Ehrenfels. 174. 
Emmerich, 326. 
Emmerich. Church of St 

Martin, 326. 355. 
Emperor Sigismund, 76, "JT. 
Empress Helene. 208, 212. 
Episcopal Palace, Strasburg, 

112. 
Erasmus, 84, 89. 
Essen, 318. 322. 
Essen. Cathedral of, dz, 65, 

319-322, 355- 



366 



Index 



Falls of Schaffhausen, 79-80. 
Frankfort, 155-160. 
Frankfort, Cathedral of, 156- 
158, 355. 

Church 

158. 

Church 



of St. 



[59, 355. 
Church 



of 
of 



St. 
St. 
St. 



Frankfort, 

Nicholas, 
Frankfort, 

Leonard, 
Frankfort, 

Catherine, 159, 355- 
Frankfort, Church of 

Paul, 159, 355- 
Frankfort, Liebfrauenkirche, 

160. 
Frastrada, 168, 277-282. 
Freeman, Professor, 256. 
Freiburg, 93-96. 
Freiburg, Cathedral of, 93- 

95, 355. 
Freiburg, Parish Church, 96, 

355. 
Freiburg, Protestant Temple, 

96. 
French Revolution, 156, 165. 



Gibbon, 50. 

Godesberg, 226-227, 356. 

Gonse, 47. 

Great Tun of Heidelberg, 145. 

Greek Chapel, Wiesbaden, 

141. 
Grisons, 17, 19-20. 
Groote Kerk, Arnheim, 333- 

334, 348. 
Groote Kerk, Rotterdam, 7- 
^8,39. 

Grynn, Hermann, 242-245. 
Gustavus Adolphus, 15. 
Gutenberg, 26. 



Haarlem, 7. 
Haarlem, Kerk at, 7. 
Hauptkirche, Boppart, 191- 

192, 349. 
Heidelberg, 142, 146. 
Heidelberg, Castle of, 3, 142, 

144-145, 355. 
Heidelberg, Church of St. 

Peter, 143. 



Heidelberg, Church of St. 

Esprit, 143, 355. 
Heidelberg, University of, 

144- 
Heidelberg, Great Tun of, 

145- 
Henry VI. of Germany, 24. 
Hildesheim, 55. 
Hoffmann, 140, 141. 
Hofkirche, Diisseldorf, 305- 

306. 
Holbein, Hans, 84, 88, 90, 96. 
Holy Coat of Treves, 210-213. 
Hugo, Victor, 104. 
Huss, John, 15, 70, y^, 78. 

Jerome of Prague, 144. 
John of Ettingen, 156. 
John of Leyden, 346. 

Katwyck, 25, 2^. 
Kauffmann, Angelica, 21. 
Kerk at Haarlem, 7. 
Koempf, 95. 
Konigswater, 9. 



Laach, 193. 

Laach, Abbey of, dz, I93-I94> 

355. 
Lake of Constance, 17, 18, 22, 

68, 78. 
Leopold of Austria, 24. 
Leyden, v., 7, 8, 25, 343-346. 
Leyden, Stadt Huis, 344-345, 

357- 
Leyden, Church of St. Peter, 

345, 346, 357. 
Leyden, Church of St. Pan- 

cras, 345, 346, 357. 
Liebfrauenkirche, Frankfort, 

160. 
Liege, 295-303. 

Liege, Cathedral of St. Lam- 
bert, 298. 
Liege, Cathedral of St. Paul, 

299. 
Liege, figlise St. Jacques, 299- 

301. 



Index 



Liege, Church of St. Jean, 

301, 357. 
Liege, Church of St. Martin, 

301, 357. 
Liege, Church of Ste. Croix, 

301-302, 357. 
Liege, Church of St. Barthe- 

lemy, 302-303, 357. 
Limburg, 59, 61, 181-186. 
Limburg, Cathedral of, 3, 

67, 182-186, 357. 
Lincoln, Cathedral of, v. 
Longfellow, 47. 
Lorsch, Abbey of, 153-154. 
Louis XV., 118. 
Lowell, James Russell, 47. 
Luther, 15, 29, 36, 75, 145, 

149. 

Maastricht, 43. 

Maison du Diable, Arnheim, 

336. 
Mannheim, 146, 148. 
Mannheim, Chateau of, 147, 

355- 
Mannheim, Church of, 148. 
Marechal de Saxe, Monu- 
ment of, III. 
Mayence, vii., 6, 13, 14, 15, 17, 

22, 23, 29, 32, 34, 161-171. 
Mayence, Cathedral of, 48, 

49, 54, 60, 64, 162, 164-170, 

358. 
Metz, 1 14-126. 
M e t z. Cathedral of St. 

Stephen, v., 114, 120-124, 

358. 
Metz, Abbey of St. Arnulphe, 

117. 
Metz, Tour des Lennyers, 

117. 
Metz, Church of St. Pierre, 

118. 
Metz, Church of St. Martin, 

124, 358. 
Metz, Church of St. Vincent, 

124, 358. 
Metz, Church of St. Maxi- 

min, 124- 



Metz, Church of St. Clement, 

125-126. 
Metz, Church of St. Eucha- 

rius, 125. 
Metz, Church of St. Sage- 
lone, 125. 
Minoriten Kirche, Aix-la- 

Chapelle, 293. 
Minsie, Henry (von Frauen- 

lob), 170-171. 
Minster Church, Miinchen- 

Gladbach, 314-315. 
Moselle Valley, 188-189. 
" Mouse Tower," Bingen, 177, 

179, 348. 
Miinchen-Gladbach, 57, 314- 

317- 
Miinchen-Gladbach, Minster 

Church, 314-315- 
M ii n c h e n-Gladbach, Stadt 

Kirche, 315-317, 355- 
Munoth, Fortress of, Schaff- 

hausen, 80. 
Museum, Basel, 90. 
Museum, Utrecht, 342. 

Napoleon, 13, 15, 156, 163, 

252, 305. 
Neuss, 6, 9, 308-313. 
Neuss, Church of St. Quiri- 

nus, 6, 38, 56, 59. 60, 204, 

308-313, 359- 
Nonnenwerth, Convent of, 

231. 
Nuremberg, 55. 

Paderborn, 34. 

Paderbom, Cathedral at, 61. 
Paris, Cathedral of, v., 3. 
Parish Church, Freiburg, 93- 

96, 355. 
Parish Church, Smzig, 38, 

204-207. 
Petrarch, 246. 
Pfalz, Basel, 89. 
Pfarr Kirche, Dortmund, 324- 

325- 
Pope Adrien VI., 338. 
Pope Benoit XIII., "J^i-^T. 



368 



Index 



Pope Boniface III., 131. 
Pope Gregory II., 33. 
Pope Gregory XII., 76-77. 
Pope John XXIIL, 76-77. 
Pope Leo IX., 164. 
Pope Urbain IV., 301. 
Prague, 55. 
Protestant Temple, Bacha- 

rach, 173, 348. 
Protestant Temple, Freiburg, 

96. 

Ragatz, 21. 

Ragatz, Abbey of Pfeffers, 21. 

Ratisbon, Cathedral at, 47. 

Ravenna, 44, 50. 

Reims, Cathedral of, v., 4. 

Remagen, 9. 

Rembrandt, 346. 

Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 265. 

Richard I. of England, 24- 

25- 
Robert I., 145. 
Rohan, Cardinal de, 112. 
Rolandseck, 227-231. 
Rotterdam, Groote Kerk of, 

7-8, 39. 
Rouen, Cathedral of, 4. 
Rubens, 264-265. 
Rudesheim, 178-180. 
Rudesheim, Church of, 178. 
Rudolph of Hapsburg, 83, 

lOI. 

Ruskin, 40. 

Sackingen, 81. 

St. Bernard, 133, 190. 

St. Boniface, 33, ZT, 163, 338. 

St. Fridolin, 82. 

St. Helene, 215, 220, 222. 

St. Hilaire, 82. 

St. Janskerk, Gouda, 39. 

Ste. Julienne, 301. 

St. Norbert, 327. 

St. Thomas, 73. 

St. Trons, 19-20. 

St. Ursula, 245. 

St. Willibrod, 337, 339- 

Schaffhausen, i, 9, 79-81. 



Schaffhausen, Falls of, 79-80. 
Schaffhausen, Cathedral of, 

81-360. 
Schaffhausen, St. John's 

Church, 81. 
Schaffhausen, Munoth, For- 
tress of, 80. 
Schiller, 29. 
Schongauer, 91, 92. 
Schwilgu, 108, 109. 
Sinzig, 204-207. 
Sinzig, Parish Church, 38, 

204-207. 
Southey, 177. 
Speyer, 15, 127-133. 
Speyer, Cathedral of, 4, 31, 

57, 60, 128, 133, 360. 
Stadt Huis, Leyden, 344, 345, 

357. 
Stadt Kirche, Miinchen- 

Gladbach, 31S-317, 359- 
Stolzenfels, 195-198, 355. 
Strasburg, 6, 15, 16, 22, 24, 

97-113. 
Strasburg, Cathedral of, v., 

47, 64, 97, 99-109, 361. 
Strasburg, Clock of, 105-108, 

361. 
Strasburg, Church of St. 

Bartholomew, no, 361. 
Strasburg, Church of St. 

Thomas, in, 361. 
Strasburg, Episcopal Palace, 

112. 
Synagogue, Worms, 152, 362. 

Taine, 2.(>. 

Taunus, Hills of, 23. 

Templehof, Boppart, 192. 

Teniers, 7. 

Thirty Years' War, 150, 154, 

156, 163, 172, 197. 
Tilly, 145. 
Tour des Lennyers, Metz, 

117. 
Tournai, Cathedral of, 3, 43. 
Treves, 208-219. 
Treves, Cathedral of, 56, 208, 

214-217. 



369 



Index 



Treves, Holy Coat of, 210- 

213. 
Treves, Church of Notre 

Dame, 42, 64, 214, 217-218, 

361. 
Treves, Church of St. Gan- 

golphe, 218. 
Treves, Church of the Jesuits, 

218. 
Treves, Church of St. Ger- 

vais, 218. 
Treves, Church of St. An- 

toine, 218. 
Treves, Church of St. Paul, 

218. 
Trifels, Chateau of, 24. 

University of Basel, 82. 
University of Heidelberg, 

144. 
University of Utrecht, 342. 
Unterlinden, Colmar, 92. 
Utrecht, 8, 25, 333, 336-343- 
Utrecht, Cathedral of St. 

Martin, 339-341, 362. 
Utrecht, Church of St. John, 

341-342, 362. 
Utrecht, Museum at, 342. 
Utrecht, University of, 342. 

Van der Werf, 346. 



Van Rosum, Martens, 336. 
Vauban, 117. 
Verdun, 17. 

Volkenstein, Daniel, 108. 
Von Steinbach, Ervin, 47, 
100, loi, 103, 105, 106, 136. 

Weinbrunner, 134, 135. 

Wiesbaden, 138-141. 

Wiesbaden, Catholic Church 
of, 139, 141. 

Wiesbaden, Greek Chapel, 
141. 

Windner, Jacob, 75. 

Wittenberg, 29. 

Wordsworth, 253, 295. 

Worms, 15, 149-154. 

Worms, Diet of, 149. 

Worms, Cathedral of, 150- 
151, 362. 

Worms, Church of St. Mar- 
tin, 151, 362. 

Worms, Church of Notre 
Dame, 151, 362. 

Worms, Synagogue, 152, 362. 

Xanten, 327-330. 
Xanten, Church of St. Vic- 
tor, 328-330, Z^2. 

York, Cathedral of, v. 



HI 15 89 

370 









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